What I'll Remember about 2011: Caddie changes

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Phil Mickelson and Jim "Bones" Mackay have been working together for over 20 years.

PGATOUR.COM asked its staffers and freelancers what they will remember about the 2011 season. For the archived list of essays, click here.

Caddies were always taught to stay in the background.

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Kind of hard for that to happen this year.

Call 2011 the Year of the Breakup. Or The Caddie Shuffle.

With so much money at stake, and the edge between winning and making a nice living on the PGA TOUR razor thin, there has been much turnover inside the caddie yard. Steve Williams wasn't the only high-profile caddie to start working for a different player (Adam Scott) this year after he and 14-time major champion Tiger Woods split last July. It just seemed that way.

Woods, who had won 13 of his majors with Williams on his bag, was among quite a few prominent players to have a change in caddies this year. Others were Scott, Dustin Johnson (twice), Ernie Els, Martin Kaymer and Robert Allenby.

It's kind of amazing Phil Mickelson and his caddie, Jim "Bones" Mackay, marked their 20-year anniversary of working together in 2011. That seems like a lifetime in the caddie world.

The changes won't stop in 2012. Johnson, who has contended in three majors the last two years, has yet to name his new caddie. Stay tuned.