At British Open, Caddies Have Their Golfers’ Bags, and Backs

SOUTHPORT, England — At the 12th hole at Royal Birkdale, a 183-yard par 3 with a green long and narrow like a Band-Aid, Matt Kuchar pulled a mid-iron from his bag. As he stood over the ball during the second round of the British Open on Friday, the crosswinds morphed into crossbones.

Kuchar knew his shot would be dead on arrival if he tried hitting into the 30-mile-per-hour gusts, so he backed off. He began the day tied for the lead, and through 11 holes he had two birdies and two bogeys breaking up the string of pars on his card.

He had ground too hard to make a careless mistake on the shortest hole on the back nine. While he waited for the wind to die down, a few doubts crept into his head.

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