It seems like Collin Morikawa isn’t playing golf these days, he’s playing the Caddie Exchange. Since January, he’s cycled through three caddies in six months, a span that’s also included a missed cut at The Players, a final-round 77 at the Memorial, and zero top-10 finishes in his last eight starts. The biggest move came when he split from longtime caddie J.J. Jakovac, a partnership that lasted over five years. The separation came as a surprise as together, they won six PGA Tour titles, including two majors: the 2020 PGA Championship and the 2021 Open Championship. But Morikawa felt their working rhythm had plateaued, and decided to let Jakovac go in late April. And of course, then there were others he had to let go of. 

Next, he picked up Joe Greiner, but that pairing lasted just five PGA Tour events. Their on-course communication reportedly lacked cohesion—Greiner, known for his laid-back approach with Max Homa, struggled to sync with Morikawa’s more meticulous prep style. After a T-42 at the Travelers and a frustrating putting week at the U.S. Open, the change felt inevitable. The most recent name on the bag was KK Limbhasut, Morikawa’s college teammate and longtime friend, who stepped in just for the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

The next caddie pairing brought familiarity and even emotional ease, but it did little to steady his performance. Morikawa finished T8 in Detroit but was seen gesturing at yardage marks and discussing missed arrows on key par-5s, visibly frustrated with course management issues on the weekend. The one-week arrangement ended as planned, with KK returning to his developmental tour schedule. With his season slipping through tactical misfires and uncertain pairings, Morikawa needed a voice proven in chaos, and that set the stage for the next pairing.

And that’s when Billy Foster entered the picture. Morikawa tapped Foster—with over four decades of elite tour experience—for a two‑week assignment starting at the Genesis Scottish Open (July 10–13) and continuing at The Open Championship (Royal Portrush, July 17–20), part of a deliberate push to reset his game during the links swing.

Foster, who just a few months ago found himself without a player, called the breakup with Matt Fitzpatrick “being thrown in the gutter”—a jarring end to a six-year partnership that had delivered one of the most emotional wins of his career at the 2022 U.S. Open. The two had started the 2025 season with promise, but a string of missed cuts—most notably at Pebble Beach and Bay Hill—led Fitzpatrick to part ways in March. “If things aren’t going well, you think you need to shake things up,” Foster told The Guardian. “Players want to change and you get thrown in the gutter.”

What made Foster the standout choice? Morikawa was seeking a caddie “seasoned in links golf”—someone with proven expertise on coastal, wind‑blown courses. Foster checks that box: he’s looper for Seve Ballesteros, Lee Westwood, Darren Clarke, and most recently Matt Fitzpatrick (including the 2022 U.S. Open win), and is known for his prowess in advising players through gales, pot bunkers, and firm fairways.

Besides that, his career timeline and the sheer volume of championship pressure he’s weathered are other reasons Morikawa turned to him. Foster began caddying on the European Tour in 1982, working first with Hugh Baiocchi, then quickly moving on to elite bags by the late ‘80s. He joined Seve Ballesteros and was on the bag for the Spaniard’s iconic 1991 Ryder Cup at Kiawah Island—a week marked by unpredictable weather, patriotic tension, and one of the most memorable team wins in history.

From the mid-90s into the 2010s, he became Lee Westwood’s right-hand man, guiding him through a stretch of major contention that included five top-three finishes between 2008 and 2013. He famously caddied for Tiger Woods at the 2005 Presidents Cup after building a rapport with him during the 2002 Ryder Cup—when Foster, with characteristic bluntness, passed Woods toilet paper under a locked bathroom stall, helping avert an emergency mid-round.

After years of near misses, Foster finally got his major win with Matt Fitzpatrick at the 2022 U.S. Open at Brookline. The emotional release was evident—he knelt to kiss the 18th green, overwhelmed after more than 40 years of waiting.

Now 59, Foster says he’s not ready to stay home. He recently told The Times he still wakes up thinking about wind directions and pin placements, and offered to do “anything” to be around Ryder Cup golf—even “making tea or fetching biscuits.” 

However, this is still a short-term arrangement. Foster confirmed to CBS Sports that this is a “short-term trial” rather than a full-time hire, though both camps acknowledge performance over the next two tournaments could determine future plans.