Choi - who has a long history of experimentation with equipment - has been using two caddies. Andy Prodger, one of the better-known caddies, was there to provide advice - club selection, putting lines, and so on. A second caddie was there to carry Choi's bag, and carry the bag only - advice allowed from one caddie only, and Prodger was Choi's idea man.
But at the Scandinavian Masters, Prodger is back lugging Choi's sticks. Why the change? Prodger told Reuters, "He got fed up with people making fun of him for having two caddies."
Perhaps Choi was also taking grief for his experiment with sidesaddle, semi-croquet putting. Choi made the switch from conventional putting to a face-on style a few weeks ago at the USPGA's John Deere Classic. He kept at it at St. Andrews last week. But Choi missed the cut at both the Deere and the British Open.
Fair to blame the radically different putting approach for those missed cuts? Probably not. St. Andrews was a bear for everyone's putting game (except Louis Oosthuizen's). And any change in putting style is going to lead to some early bumps. Choi's putting wasn't good before the switch, and it wasn't good during his two weeks trying a face-on style.
Choi went back to a conventional putter this week in Sweden, and now he leads the tournament after rounds of 68 and 67.
Oosthuizen - attempting to become the first player ever to win the British Open and follow it with a European Tour victory one week later - is tied for second. (There are still some players on the course in the second round as I write this, so Choi's and Oosthuizen's places might change.)
But Choi indicated his experiment with the sidesaddle method might not be over, telling the European Tour, "These greens are very slopey and the side-saddle needs more practice."
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