Billy Foster, after nearly 40 years on the bag, finally gets his major win at the U.S. Open

Ryan Young

Finally, after decades on the bag for some of golf’s biggest names, Billy Foster has his major.

The longtime caddie helped lead Matthew Fitzpatrick to his win at the U.S. Open on Sunday afternoon, and walked off the final green at The Country Club in perhaps the best way possible with a major now in hand.

“It means the world to Billy,” Fitzpatrick said after the win. “I can’t tell you how much it means to Billy. It’s unbelievable. I know it’s something he’s wanted for a long, long, long time. To do it today is incredible.”

Foster has been caddying professionally for nearly 40 years and has worked with some incredible golfers, including Seve Ballesteros, Darren Clarke, Thomas Bjorn, Sergio Garcia and even Tiger Woods. Yet over all that time, he just couldn’t quite get to a major win.

Foster most recently worked with Lee Westwood for 10 years, but the two split in 2018. That’s when he first teamed up with Fitzpatrick, which seemed to work out well almost instantly. He was on the bag for Fitzpatrick when he won the DP World Tour Championship in 2020 and at the Andalucia Masters last year.

The duo nearly got their first major last month, too, but Fitzpatrick finished in a tie for fifth at the PGA Championship. Sunday's win was Fitzpatrick's first in the United States on the PGA Tour.

The emotions hit Foster almost immediately on the green, too.

“Normally people have a monkey on their back,” Foster told ESPN’s Michael Collins. “I had a gorilla on my back … It’s just like, what a relief after all these years we’ve finally kicked one over the line.”

Now, with that quest over, Foster is ready to celebrate.

“First and foremost it was a relief,” he said. “But let me tell you, tonight and next week, I think I’ll have a liver like a football.”

Matthew Fitzpatrick embraces his caddie Billy Foster at the U.S. Open
It was Matthew Fitzpatrick that finally got caddie Billy Foster a major win. (David Cannon/Getty Images) (David Cannon via Getty Images)

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