A caddie at heart, Bones Mackay makes sure to get the 18th flag to Spaun’s bagman

OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — Jim “Bones” Mackay often has said he would always be a caddie, even now that he has left his longtime role to be a course reporter for NBC Sports. That much was evident in the final, chaotic hour of the U.S. Open.

Mackay was with the final group of Sam Burns and Adam Scott. By the time they reached the final hole Sunday, the championship had been decided. J.J. Spaun made a 65-foot birdie putt to finish at 279. The last two players on the course were five shots or more behind.

That’s when Mackay identified a potential problem and solved it. When it was over, he removed the flag on the 18th hole, which traditionally is the “trophy” for the winner’s caddie. That was Mark Carens, who had to leave the 18th with another group coming through.

“We were 200 yards away when J.J. made his putt,” Mackay said Tuesday. “That scene … I realized J.J. won the tournament and I was super happy for both of those guys. But it just occurred to me, Mark might not have access to the flag.”

Carens joined Spaun in the scoring area. Sam Burns and Adam Scott closed out their rough back nine with bogeys. Mackay waited for them to finish and grabbed the pin.

“There were so many people inside the ropes, I just wanted to make sure Mark got it, or to have the option,” Mackay said. “As I got to scoring, he was coming out with J.J. I handed it to him, said, ‘Congrats,’ and left him alone.”

Only a caddie would think to do that. Mackay is a caddie.

Portmarnock in the mix

The Royal & Ancient Golf Club talks about a feasibility study for the British Open to return to Turnberry. Far more serious is whether to take golf’s oldest championship outside the United Kingdom for the first time.

The topic was Portmarnock in Ireland. The response from Mark Darbon, the R&A’s new CEO, was that “we’re serious.”

“We’re having a proper look at it,” Darbon said in a recent interview “It’s clearly a great course.”

Darbon said he went to Portmarnock, located on a peninsula about 10 miles (16 kilometers) northwest of Dublin, for the first time last month.

“Wonderful links golf course,” he said. “And clearly a links course that provides a challenge to the best golfers in the world is right in the heart of our thinking about where we take our prized Open Championship.”

Darbon pointed out the history with Portmarnock and the R&A, specifically the Walker Cup in 1991 and the British Amateur in 1949 and 2019, along with the Women’s British Amateur last year and in 1931.

“We think if we’re happy taking our Amateur Championships there, why not consider it for the Open, too?” he said.

Work remains, particularly the logistics of a massive crowd — The Open is all about “big” these days — on and off the peninsula.

The PGA Championship a decade ago flirted with the idea of going around the world. For the British Open to leave the U.K. for the first time would not open more borders.

“I think the simple answer is ‘no,’ it wouldn’t open up our thinking more broadly,” Darbon said. “If you go back in history, the home territory of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews is the British Isles, basically. We think if we’ve got this great history with the Republic of Ireland and its great golf course, then why not look at it?”

KPMG Women’s PGA

The KPMG Women’s PGA is now on equal terms with the U.S. Women’s Open when it comes to prize money. KPMG announced Tuesday its total purse is now $12 million, up from $10.4 million a year ago.

KPMG took over as title sponsor in 2015 when the PGA of America became partners with the LPGA in the major championship that dates to 1955.

More than money, the company has provided players with data to improve their games called “KPMG Performance Insights,” which operates on a smaller scale of the ShotLink data on the PGA Tour.

For the Women’s PGA, which starts Thursday at the Fields Ranch East at PGA of America headquarters near Dallas, KPMG is adding AI-enhanced features like hole-by-hole analysis delivered to players after each round.

Another feature is AI-generated scoring targets, particularly the cut, giving players an idea if they’re safe or need to make a move.

“The high purse, top courses, comprehensive broadcast coverage, and technology are all ways we are setting the standard,” said Paul Knopp, the U.S. chairman and CEO of KPMG.

Ryder Cup locks

Another measure of how well Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy have played this year — McIlroy until the Masters, Scheffler ever since then — is that both already have locked up a spot on their Ryder Cup teams with at least two months left in the qualifying period.

Scheffler locked up his spot among the leading six players two weeks ago. Team Europe disclosed Tuesday that McIlroy already has clinched a spot. The Ryder Cup is at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York, at the end of September.

More interesting is who gets the other spots, or even is in position for a captain’s pick. U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun moved all the way up to No. 3, followed by Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa. All have Ryder Cup experience.

Of the next six in the U.S. standings, only Harris English and Brian Harman have played in a Ryder Cup.

McIlroy is followed by Tyrrell Hatton, Shane Lowry, Robert MacIntyre, Sepp Straka and Rasmus Hojgaard. MacIntyre moved up seven spots to No. 4 with as the U.S. Open runner-up.

Keegan Bradley, the U.S. captain who has said he would play if he qualifies, is at No. 17 with three $20 million tournaments to play and the British Open.

Divots

The PGA Tour says 143 players have competed in a signature event since 2024. The Travelers Championship is the final one of 2025. … The Korn Ferry Tour is adding a tournament in Amarillo, Texas, to its 2026 schedule. The OccuNet Classic will be played played June 11-14 at Tascosa Golf Club. … The two players picking up medals on the 18th green at Oakmont for the U.S. Open were from San Diego State — J.J. Spaun, the U.S. Open champion, and Justin Hastings of the Cayman Islands, the low amateur. … Corey Conners, who had to withdraw from the final round of the U.S. Open with a wrist injury, withdrew from the $20 million Travelers Championship. He was replaced in the field by Jhonattan Vegas. … The field for the KPMG Women’s PGA features all 100 players from the Race to CME Globe on the LPGA Tour.

Stat of the week

Philip Barbaree Jr. finished in last place at the U.S. Open and earned the largest paycheck of his career at $41,785.

Final word

“I feel like I’ve earned the right to do whatever I want to do.” — Rory McIlroy.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf