"Beating Spieth 5&4 in Ryder Cup 2018, was the best day of my life"

Dominic Bott is an 12 time winning Golf caddy having carried the clubs for Howard Clark, Gary Evans, Graeme Storm, Thomas Bjorn, Paul Casey, Colin Montgomery and Thornbjorn Olesen amongst others.

Getting Started

Dominic Bott started caddying for Stephen Bottomley in 1992 on the Challenge Tour. Having got a taste for the job he caddied for Paul Eales on the European Tour in 1993.

Eales won the 1994 Extremadura Open on his way to a career best 35th place on the European Tour Order of Merit. Bott was 19 an living from home at the time. Honing his craft he went on to work with Howard Clark is 1997, and Raymond Russel,l before working with Gary Evans in an incredible open champiosnhip in 2002.

The Open Chamionship is within our grasp !

Cast your mind back to the 2002 Open Championship at Muirfield. Gary Evans is winning the Open on Saturday with Dominic bott on the bag. The meal that night an ebullient Evans says

"if we win the open tomorrow I'll give you the cheque".

It's the 71st hole and Ernie Els is in hot persuit. Bott recalls "he hits the ball right in the middle of the fairway, it's now 256 yards to the pin. It's a 3 wood sliding left to right to a back right pin. I'll never forget it he got to the top of his backswing and came right over the top, like a sack of coal. The ball went miles left".

"We start looking at there is 70 to a 100 people, by the time we stop looking there was a thousand. We even had the camera on TV panning in and relaying it to the marshall". 

"We couldn't find it. I walked straight back with Gary and dropped the ball for his 4th Shot. He hit the ball pin high maybe 50 feet from the pin. Gary said to me "You know i'm going to hole this putt don't you?"

"I just said go on then! I couldn't look the sound of this deafening roar told me he had to drained it straight in the middle. Now there's one hole left to play i'm trying to calm him down".

"We get to the final hole. I should have just let him whale it down the middle towards the stand but instead we decided on an iron. We missed out on the title and a play off with a bogey five. If there was one decision in my career that I could try and change, it would be to hit driver and not iron of the tee"

Evans missed out on the title and the play off. The title went to Ernie Els after a play- off involving four players. VIDEO HERE 

Thomas Bjorn and Paul Casey

Winning Quatar Masters with Thomas Bjorn                                 BMW Classic with Paul Cassey

Bott has carried the bag for Thomas Bjorn on four seperate ocassions. Notable victories in Portugal in 2010 and the Commercialbank Qatar Masters in February 2011 stand out for Bott "I can't speak highly enough of Thomas, I have had the privilege of working with some exceptional ball strikers and Thomas Bjorn is up there with the very best. We are friends to this very day".

Paul Casey came calling in 2012, however Bott's innagural event at the PGA championship in America went far from smoothly with two flights missed and all his luggage missing. No one can deny that Paul Casey is an exceptional golfer, but at the time Casey was struggling with his game

"I remember him standing on the 10th tee at KIOWA island. I remember him flushing his ball straight down the middle and giving the biggest sigh i have ever heard, he was 27 over parr over two days and really struggling with his game".

"Class is permanent though, we went to KOREA and finished 3rd. He returned the following season in the best shape both physically and mentally. In 2013 winning the Irish Open in diabolical wind and rain. Casey had a three shot lead but bogeyed the 15th and 16th, but a closing eagle on the par five 18th sealed the victory.

"It really was superb ball striking in terrible conditions, the rain and the wind were awful, everyone couldn't cope with it apart form Paul. He was brilliant, just brilliant ball striking".

Thorbjorn Olesen

"It's 2015 and I was put forward by a friend to carry for Thorbjorn, I was told I'd got the job can you start on Monday in Mauritius. I said I can't it's my Dad's funeral". He Lost in a play off and finished second his best mate caddied for him, but the sign were encouraging".

"Unfortunately this didn't last as we ended up going to the Dunhill Links 124th in the Race to Dubai". At the Old Course he is playing brilliantly and ended up leading on the final round, we had a scare on the 18th nearly out of bounds on the left but he ended up with a par and won by two shots"

"In 2016 he played in Turkey and won. Then on to Melbourne for the World Cup and he is representing Denmark with Søren Kjeldsen they win by four shots, won twice within a month".

Olesen earned his place on the European team courtesy of a career-best 2018 campaign, which included a maiden Rolex Series victory at the Italian Open and two top tens in the World Golf Championships. The victory in Italy was the fifth DP World Tour title of his career.

"At the 2019 players championship we decided to go our own ways, it was time for a change, I took some time off to recharge". A few jobs with different players followed until he reaquanted with Thorbjorn Olesen. 

In 2022 secured his sixth DP World Tour title after nearly four years at the Betfred British Masters. The Dane trailed with two holes to play but finished eagle birdie to win by one stroke at The Belfry.

"One of the best finishes I have ever seen. draining a forty footer on the 18th. I have never been prouder of him, after everything he'd been through".

The Ryder Cup 2018

Thorbjorn made his Ryder Cup debut in 2018, under the Captainship of his friend and mentor Thomas Bjørn and won his singles match in impressive fashion, beating Jordan Spieth 5&4. Dominic is on the bag.

"In the 2018 Ryder Cup the Americans didn't come and play in the French Open. Justin Thomas did and he got 4 points out of 5. Most of the Europeans had played the course many times so knew it well".

"Rory said "We are getting a game on Friday" nice easy relaxing comment so we knew we would be ready. There were 12,000 people on the first tee, Thorbjorn said to me "are you nervous" I replied "no I'm excited" it felt like it was meant to be. I had waited 25 years for this

The best day of my life is when we beat Jordan Speith in the singles 5&4, well second best the birth of my daughter is the best, incedible atmosphere".

it would be great to be in Italy for the Ryder Cup in 2023