Caddie Kenny Harms, who helped Kevin Na to a win at Colonial, loves his pizza
By Adam Fonseca · May 31, 2019
Caddie Kenny Harms was quite the presence last week at Colonial in the Charles Schwab Challenge, as he helped guide Kevin Na to a third career PGA Tour victory and his second in less than a year.
Harms and Na have been a team since 2009 and have an incredible bond.
That was on full display in the aftermath of the win, as Na handed Harms the keys to that gorgeous, fully-restored 1973 Dodge Challenger — meant for the tournament winner — and said, “We are like brothers, and I’m more than happy to give it to him.”
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Harms, 53, began his caddying career in January 1991 when he was on the bag for Lynn Connelly on the LPGA. In the nearly three decades since, he’s also looped for Hale Irwin, Hubert Green, Raymond Floyd, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Aaron Baddeley, Michelle Wie, Jan Stephenson and Emilee Klein.
Harms sure loves his golf.
But if you follow him on Instagram where he’s a frequent poster (@kharms27), you’d also know that Harms LOVES his pizza.
It makes sense for the man who was born and raised in Paramus, N.J. (he lives in Florida now) – less than 25 miles from New York City, which boasts some of the best pizza in the world.
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When he visits home, Harms said his favorite spot is Angelo’s Pizza in Maywood, a place he dined at as a kid.
Harms’ Instagram page is flooded with video clips of him reviewing different slices from around the country at virtually every PGA Tour stop.
Dave “El Pres” Portnoy (who Harms calls “The President”) – founder of the wildly popular Barstool Sports – might be the only person in America who eats pizza more frequently than Harms.
Portnoy reviews pizza daily for his social media channels and “OneBite” app.
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While it’s natural for people to assume Harms tried to copy Portnoy’s idea for pizza review videos, they’d be wrong.
“People have asked me why I’m copying the President,” Harms said. “Let’s make this clear: there’s no doubt he’s the best. I honestly didn’t know who he was or what Barstool Sports was until I was staying with a nephew a while back during the Barclays at Ridgewood Country Club in New Jersey. My nephews are the ones that turned me on to Barstool. I didn’t even know about the pizza reviews. I looked the President up and I was like, ‘this guy is awesome!’ I look forward to his reviews every single day. He’s awesome. But I’m doing my own thing.”
That “thing” involves Harms almost throwing a pizza slice down on his plate in hilariously manufactured disgust if it isn’t what he believes to be at least an “8” on a scale from 1-10.
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“I didn’t even realize I did that – throwing down the slices – until someone asked me why I do it,” he said. “Then I went back and looked at the videos. I decided it’s got to be an ‘8’ or better to not get thrown. If it’s an 8+, it gets the respect it deserves. If people have a problem with that, don’t follow me. It’s a free world. It’s been fun.”
The amount of pizza Harms eats on a weekly basis is in direct relation to where he is.
For instance, when the PGA Championship was at Bethpage Black on Long Island – and its close proximity to NYC – Harms had pizza every day.
“New York coal-fired pizza is my favorite,” he said. “Two weeks ago in Long Island, every day, I was out even if it was for one slice. I found Umberto’s in New Hyde Park and the Sicilian was the best I’ve had. Off the charts. I went to the the President’s OneBite app and I was trying to find his highest-ranked pizzas in Manhattan. I went to the places – found one in Brooklyn and that was closed. Lucali… 4-hour wait for takeout. I went back on the app and there’s an 8.8 and a 9.1. I hit both and they were good. Totally not a letdown. One of them looked like a 9.1, but tasted like an 8.5 — Best Pizza in Brooklyn. I don’t know what dope the President was smoking. I went to John’s on Bleeker Street that Sunday and that’s the best slice I’ve ever had. I gave it a 9.1. Was it a 9.3 like the President gave it? Maybe. I don’t know what that is yet. It’s cool. Using the OneBite app, that’s what I go to when friends are trying to find something. Or I Google ‘best pizza in…’ whatever city and limit it to three, look at the pictures and reviews. I’ve got a good taste.”
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If he’s in Hilton Head, meanwhile, there might not be a lot of time carved out for pizza.
“In Hilton Head, there’s no good pizza there,” he said. “People have suggested a couple of places and they stunk. The only place I’ll go there is the Mellow Mushroom, which sort of breaks a rule of mine everywhere else – I don’t do chain pizza joints. The Mellow Mushroom is a chain, but it’s a decent chain.”
If you’re dining with Harms at a pizza joint, order your pizza however you’d like. But for him, it’s just going to be a cheese slice.
“I don’t do toppings at all,” he said. “Last year at Ridgewood, I took seven caddies to Angelo’s Pizza. They all ordered what they wanted. I got three slices of cheese. They said, ‘yours looks better.’ So I ordered a cheese slice for each guy and they loved it. This is the way pizza was made and it’s supposed to be. Once you put toppings on, it destroys the flavor and the oil from the meet destroys the crust. I won’t say I don’t occasionally put sausage on it — I do — but 9 out of 10 times it’s a cheese pie.”
One thing you quickly notice when you see Harms in photos or in video is that his body doesn’t reflect that of what you might expect from someone who consumes so much pizza.
And that’s by design.
“People think I’m a health nut,” he said. “I’m not. But I work out hard so I can play hard. I love being with friends, cooking out, having a barbecue. I eat a lot of veggies. I’m not a huge salad guy. I love pizza, red wine, cheeseburgers and sweet potato fries. Those are my comfort foods.”
Harms works out like a maniac so he can eat what he wants to eat and when he wants to eat it.
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“I’m very serious about working out,” he said. “It’s something that was instilled in me growing up wrestling. My dad and two uncles all had bellies and I would always make fun of them. They’d say, ‘wait until you’re 30… wait until you’re 40… wait until you’re 50.’ Well, I’m 53 now and I still have a six-pack. You are what you eat. Don’t get me wrong, I love eating what I want, but I do it in moderation. I could eat a whole pie, but when I wake up in the morning… I just had a quarter bowl of cereal, four ounces of fresh-squeezed OJ – which is the only way I’ll drink it — a Greek yogurt and some Ripple Pea milk. I stay away from most other dairy because of all the pizza I eat. But everything is in moderation.”
Harms said he takes one month off from the gym per year to refresh his body, but otherwise, you’ll find him in there seven days per week when he’s home and close to that when he’s on the PGA Tour with Na (depending on what the day allows. For instance, if there’s a weather delay at the course, the gym might have to wait).
WATCH: Kevin Na’s caddie Kenny Harms talks about the pair’s special week at Colonial
“I do mostly weight training,” he said. “I do a cycle – 25 pull-ups, 50 push-ups, 100 body-weight squats, three sets without stopping. I’ll get all the reps in the first set, but not the second. I haven’t been able to get to 25 in the first shot lately. It’s 19-20, 10-second break, then the 50 push-ups. The heart rate is screaming. That’s my cardio.”
Beyond that, Harms said he’s a “one muscle group/day guy.”
“I do legs twice a week because they’re skinny – they always have been,” he said. “I’m working on that. I usually do five different exercises for each muscle group up to seven. None of it is extreme weight. I’m a rep guy. I’m not trying to get hurt. I belong to LA Fitness and try to get to them when I’m out on the road.”
You might be surprised to know this: Harms didn’t have so much as a single slice of pizza the week of Na’s win at Colonial.
“I stayed with friends and ate at their house and went to parties all that week,” he said. “There was a place I wanted to go but didn’t get to it. I love burgers and sweet potato fries, too. I try to find the best burger place and do reviews for the burgers. Last week it was Doc B’s in Fort Worth. I went there on Saturday. The burger was awesome, an 8.5, and the sweet potato fries were a 9.6 — best of my life. I had a couple glasses of wine, too, of course.”
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Being that he’s a burger aficionado on top of the pizza, we had to ask Harms: Five Guys, In-N-Out, Shake Shack or Whataburger?
“I’m a Five Guys, guy,” he said. “They have a great burger, and no one comes close to their fries. I flew out of Cincy earlier this week, got delayed, missed a connection and had Five Guys. For the most part on the road, though, I try to find the best local place.”
So, if there’s a PGA Tour event in your area and Kevin Na is playing, you can likely find Harms at the area’s best pizza joint, burger joint… or gym… when he’s not at the course.
