PGA Tour caddie has 'greatest season of unemployment' after brutal text from golf star
After professional golfer Ryan Moore advised him to find a full-time job, caddie Austin Gaugert has ironically experienced the "greatest season of unemployment" following a recent $72,000 windfall for assisting Garrick Higgo.
Higgo,
a PGA Tour star
, recently claimed the Corales Puntacana Championship 2025, earning $720,000 after hiring Gaugert on a three-week trial. This isn't the only instance of a golfer achieving success with a new caddie,
as Justin Thomas won the RBC Heritage
with a last-minute replacement
who previously worked with Max Homa.
Gaugert has essentially worked as a freelance caddie this season but may become Higgo's permanent caddie moving forward. It's been a remarkable year for Gaugert, who was considering a career change before an unexpected opportunity arose.
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Moore didn't let Gaugert go due to poor performance but was honest about his limited competition schedule this season. "I changed up caddies for these fall events, and I think we hit it off right away and had good mojo and just played well together," Moore said, praising Gaugert. "I think he was a big part of it. Just a good, positive guy that was encouraging me and keeping my stress level pretty low."
However, Moore's suggestion that Gaugert look for a new job has ultimately led to a more lucrative outcome for the caddie. In a chat with SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio, Gaugert reminisced about his recent victory alongside Higgo and discussed the unique nature of this year.
"It's actually been one of the weirdest caddie years of my career," he remarked. "I've been out caddying for about ten years now, I started in 2016, and I caddied for Ryan Moore for about the last year and a half. So the whole 2024 season and like the fall of the 2023 season.
"And he texted me at the beginning of the year like, 'Hey dude! I don't know how much I am going to play. If I were you and you really wanted to find a full-time job, I would probably go look for a few jobs.
"So I was like okay. I started the year with an asterisk of unemployment, and then I went and caddied for Dylan Wu on the Korn Ferry and then at Torrey Pines. Then I got asked at Torrey Pines to do a one-week trial with Sami Valimaki. I was flying home from the one week in Arizona, Patrick Rodgers called me.
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"I filled in for him three other times. He called me. His caddie was having hernia surgery. He's like, 'Hey, do you wanna work the next three weeks?' We played so well at Genesis, Mexico, and Palm Beach that we actually got in Bay Hill.
"We finished third in Genesis, 25th in Mexico, 18th at Palm Beach. So then, I went and caddied Bay Hill for him too. Finished 22nd there. I was like okay, I made some money. So now, I don't know. I am still unemployed because his caddie came back."
Gaugert was all set for a family getaway when Higgo rang him up with an offer. Cutting his vacation short, Gaugert took the chance, which resulted in yet another hefty payday.
"He's like, 'Hey, do you want to come down to Savannah?' And I'm like, I mean, not really. I just made some money," Gaugert confessed. "I was ready to sit at home. I was having a great time. I've been telling people I've had like, maybe like the greatest, one of the greatest seasons of unemployment ever."
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