Author: James “Jimmy” Caldwell

Brooks Koepka’s Florida Return: A Make-or-Break Moment for Golf’s Prodigal Son I’ve been covering professional golf since before Brooks Koepka was born, and I’ve seen enough comebacks, reinventions, and second acts to know that timing is everything. So when I heard that Koepka had committed to playing the Cognizant Classic, The Players, and the Valspar Championship in consecutive weeks this February and March, my first instinct wasn’t skepticism—it was recognition. This is a player desperate to matter again, and he’s putting his cards on the table in front of his home crowd. That takes guts. What strikes me most about…

Virtual Golf’s Real Impact: Why Simulators Are the Game’s Most Important Evolution Since the Metal Driver After 35 years of covering professional golf—including 15 Masters and more PGA Tour events than I care to count—I’ve watched this game transform in ways both obvious and subtle. We’ve seen equipment evolve, conditioning standards skyrocket, and the talent pool deepen dramatically. But I’ll tell you what strikes me most about the current moment: virtual golf simulators aren’t just a neat piece of technology. They’re quietly reshaping who gets to play this game and why. Look, I’m not naïve about technology trends in golf.…

The LIV Individual Title Race: A Tale of Brilliance, Potential, and Redemption After thirty-five years covering professional golf—including more than a few awkward moments watching the tour landscape shift beneath our feet—I’ve learned to appreciate when the sport gives us a genuinely compelling story. The race for the 2026 LIV Golf Individual Championship is exactly that. Jon Rahm enters as the defending champion with credentials that would make most of us shake our heads in disbelief. The Spanish captain of Legion XIII has posted finishes outside the top 11 exactly once in 25 completed starts on the circuit. That’s not…

When the Game’s Best Stumble, Hungry Youngsters Thrive: What Thursday’s Phoenix Open Really Tells Us I’ve been around this tour long enough to know that one scorching round in the Arizona heat doesn’t make or break anybody’s season. But what happened Thursday at TPC Scottsdale? That’s worth paying attention to. Not because Chris Gotterup shot 63—though that’s plenty impressive—but because of what his meteoric rise tells us about where professional golf is heading, and what it means when a generational talent like Scottie Scheffler suddenly looks mortal. Let me be straight with you: I’ve caddied in majors, covered 15 Masters,…

Scheffler’s Stranglehold on Pebble Beach: Why the Favorites Keep Getting Longer After 35 years of watching the West Coast swing unfold—and I do mean watching, from the gallery ropes, the press tent, and yes, even from the caddie shack back when I was looping for Tom Lehman—I’ve learned that betting odds tell a story the scoreboard doesn’t always capture. This week at Pebble Beach, that story is becoming increasingly familiar: Scottie Scheffler is so dominant that everyone else’s odds are basically retreating into the ocean. Let’s start with the obvious. Scheffler arrives at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am as the…

Pebble Beach’s Winter Warmth: Why Rory’s Return Matters More Than You Think There’s something about Pebble Beach in early February that strips away all the noise and gets down to brass tacks. After 35 years covering this tour, I’ve learned that the AT&T Pro-Am isn’t just another PGA Signature Event—it’s the first real measure of where the season’s heavy hitters actually stand. This week, we get Rory McIlroy returning from a four-tournament absence, and that simple fact tells you everything you need to know about how the modern tour operates. McIlroy won this event last year, but he’s chosen to…

Pebble Beach 2026: Why This $20 Million Signature Event Matters More Than You Think Rory McIlroy is back at Pebble Beach this week, and frankly, that’s the only storyline most casual fans need. The defending champion of one of golf’s most iconic events, kicking off his 2026 campaign at the place where he dominated last January—it’s the kind of narrative that writes itself. But here’s what strikes me after 35 years of following this tour: the real story isn’t McIlroy’s return. It’s what the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am’s $20 million purse tells us about where professional golf is heading, and…

Castlerock’s Quiet Excellence: Why Golf’s Hidden Gems Matter More Than Ever After 35 years covering professional golf, I’ve learned that the sport’s greatest stories don’t always unfold at marquee venues. Sometimes they whisper from the edges of the map, waiting for someone to pay attention. That’s precisely what I found when I recently turned my focus to Castlerock Golf Club in Northern Ireland—a course that’s been punching well above its weight for over a century while its flashier neighbors hog the spotlight. What strikes me about Castlerock is its refusal to apologize for what it isn’t while unapologetically excelling at…