Nationwide Tour Insider: Caddie turns player

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Nationwide Tour player Chris Mundorf has served as a caddie to PGA TOUR players J.B. Holmes and Troy Matteson.

Chris Mundorf says he has a slight advantage having been inside the ropes as a PGA TOUR caddie.

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Mundorf, 32, is putting that experience into play this season as he plays the Nationwide Tour. He's taken the long road to pro golf, and he says that if not for the help of his former employers -- PGA TOUR players J.B. Holmes and Troy Matteson -- he might have never gotten a chance.

After eight tries at qualifying school Mundorf, who lives in Raleigh, finally broke through to the final stage last fall and wound up 66th for the Nationwide Tour. It was good enough to give him partial status this season for the first time.

Mundorf, who played at N.C. State and graduated in 2001, has been given a sponsor's exemption for this week's Rex Hospital Open at TPC Wakefield Plantation in Raleigh.

"I played in that tournament four years ago when I Monday-qualified so I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do this time around," said Mundorf, who lives about 20 minutes from the course.

Getting the chance to stay at home with his wife, Katharine, and their nearly 1-year-old son Evan, will hopefully put Mundorf in a good frame of mind.

"Definitely, the No. 1 goal is to make some money this week and keep going," said Mundorf, who has played in just one other Nationwide Tour event this season and missed the cut. "I just want to use this as an opportunity to get on the money list and maybe hope for the best when the reshuffle comes around."

Mundorf has played in six career Nationwide Tour tournaments but has yet to make a cut. It's been a rough go this season, but he has tried to stay sharp playing other local tours in North Carolina.

He says that the biggest challenge is putting a good week together at the right time.

"I've played fairly well and had some good finishes but my scoring just needs to come together a little more," he said.

To supplement his dream of playing pro golf Mundorf took the unusual track of becoming a caddie. First he caddied for Holmes and then hooked up with Matteson for about 18 months, which included the entire 2009 season.

Matteson, a two-time winner on the PGA TOUR, tried to help Mundorf as much as he could when they were at tournaments. On Wednesdays it was common for Matteson to let Mundorf go to a nearby course to work on his own game.

"Troy was great because on some days he would say 'you don't have to sit here and watch me hit balls; why don't you work on your game?" Mundorf said. "So to get that kind of support it really kind of made me want to get better and prove to Troy that I could play out here."

Matteson, who won twice when he was on the Nationwide Tour, had one of his best seasons with Mundorf on his bag. He said that Mundorf definitely has the game and the desire.

"I've known Chris since our junior golf days so we go back a ways," Matteson said. "It's just taken him a little longer to get out there but that's how this game is."

Mundorf, who was a college teammate of PGA TOUR players Tim Clark, Carl Pettersson, Marc Turnesa and Garth Mulroy, said that Matteson has helped him with finances, too.

When Mundorf was playing in the first stage of qualifying school last fall he missed Matteson's victory at the Frys.com Open in late October. Matteson, who played at Georgia Tech, won $900,000 so it cost Mundorf a $90,000 paycheck.

"It was a $90,000 mistake," Mundorf said laughing, "but Troy understood what I was doing, and I got through the first stage so that was good."

Matteson also showed class by arranging to pay for Mundorf's $5,000 entry to qualifying school. He's pleased that his friend and former caddie has gotten the chance to compete on the Nationwide Tour.

"Chris was able to kind of see the lifestyle you have to live out on TOUR the last couple of years when he was a caddie so that's going to help him," Matteson said. "So him being inside the ropes before should give him a little knowledge than somebody coming right out and trying to play."

Once Mundorf got through the final stage of qualifying school he knew there would be limited playing chances early on the Nationwide Tour. That led to a conversation with Matteson about his old job.

"Troy wanted me to just concentrate on my game, and what I needed to do," Mundorf said. "So we agreed I would stay home and work on my game and play other tours while waiting to play in Nationwide Tour events."

Mundorf said that having somebody like Matteson in his corner makes a big difference.

"It's afforded me the ability to get this going this year," Mundorf said. "I mean, I think Troy is in his fifth year on the PGA TOUR and he knows what it takes and I've tried to learn as much from him as I could."

Mundorf estimated he combined to caddie for Holmes and Matteson in about 70 PGA TOUR tournaments.

"I do see it as an advantage because I've seen a lot of course conditions as a caddie and I've seen how shots react and things like that," Mundorf said. "I think it helps because I can notice the little things that maybe wouldn't show up outside the ropes or on TV."

Mundorf says that being inside the ropes again on the PGA TOUR is his goal, but he hopes it will be as a player.

"I think that will be a lot of fun and it will be nice when somebody sees me and they say he used to be a caddie," Mundorf said. "That's what I'm working toward."

John Dell has covered golf for the Winston-Salem Journal in North Carolina for the last 16 years. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.