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A big-time day of donations by J.T. Poston and caddie Aaron Flener, Face App fun, Portrush scenes and more

By T.J. Auclair · July 22, 2019
J.T. Poston, Drew Franklin, Aaron Flener
J.T. Poston, here with Kentucky sports personality Drew Franklin and caddie Aaron Flener, made 11 birdies on Thursday. With each of the three donating $22/birdie, the trio raised a whopping $726 on Thursday for a memorial fund in the memory of former Kentucky football star Jared Lorenzen.

With two tournaments going on at once – the Open Championship in Northern Ireland and the Barbasol Championship in Kentucky – there were plenty of social media moments involving caddies over the last week.

Since the Open took the bulk of the attention, let’s start with some of the fun stuff that came out of the Barbasol Championship.

First off, let’s throw another shoutout to J.T. Poston and caddie Aaron Flener. The peer pledged $22 apiece for each of J.T.’s birdies at the John Deere Classic and the Barbasol Championship to go toward a fund for the children of late Kentucky football star, Jared Lorenzen.

Poston made seven birdies before missing the cut at the John Deere, but then went OFF in the first round of the Barbasol with an incredible 11 birdies.

Poston would finish T29 with 25 birdies at Barbasol, bringing the two-week total from player and caddie to $1,408.

Well done, boys!

Of course, with Flener, there’s got to be some comedic relief, too. On Friday, he took the local newspaper to task – and rightfully so – when they misspelled his boss’s last name in a headline following his 62 to lead after Round 1.

A golf event in Kentucky – in the dead of summer – is going to mean temperatures closing in on triple digits. Thankfully, those in charge at the Barbasol recognized the caddies could probably use a little something to cool off. So, they did this…

… and it was much appreciated.

Austin Cook enjoyed a terrific week at the Barbasol, ultimately finishing T4. After a sensational 63 on Saturday, he took a little time to give credit to caddie Kip Henley for his improved putting.

Moving across the Atlantic now, here’s what was going on with caddies at Royal Portrush…

First, we bring you this video – sent in to TCN – that went viral of Jordan Spieth and Austin Kaiser (caddie for Xander Shauffele) in a water-chugging contest:

Also early in the week, Matt Minister (caddie for Patrick Cantlay) sent us this stunning shot of Royal Portrush (a far cry from what players and fans experienced in the final round)…

A big-time social media fad the last week or so has been use of the “Face App,” which allows users to upload their photo and select an option that makes their face age years ahead… it’s freaky, actually.

Joel Dahmen and caddie Geno Bonnalie gave the app a whirl:

Whoa.

A Twitter user had a fun Face App joke, too, for Shane Lowry and caddie Bo Martin (and their uncanny resemblance):

This trip to the Open Championship marked Bonnalie’s first time to Europe. In a short time, he found it was easy to develop the traits of the locals.

During the Open, Paul Tesori – Webb Simpson’s looper – acknowledged a tradition at the Open that makes life as a caddie much easier:

As we all know, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy all missed the cut at Royal Portrush – a stunning development no one could have predicted. Maybe one or two of them could miss the cut, but all three?

Mickelson spent the first two rounds paired with eventual Open Champion Shane Lowry. And, on the eve of the final round, Mickelson’s brother and caddie, Tim, had some nice, encouraging words for Lowry:

Mickelson’s sentiment was one shared by most. Needless to say, Lowry was a popular champion on Sunday.

T.J. Auclair

T.J. Auclair is the Director of Content for The Caddie Network and has covered professional golf since 1998, traveling to over 70 major championships.

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