Just when Scottie Scheffler seemed poised to turn a stellar season into something extraordinary, a twist emerged—not from his swing, but from his corner. Four wins deep in 2025 and eyeing a fifth at the St. Jude Championship, the World No. 1 suddenly found himself without his trusted right-hand man, caddie Ted Scott. In a move that stunned many but stayed true to their bond, Scott stepped away on the eve of the final round,

Ted Scott has been Scheffler’s caddie since late 2021 and has been on the bag for all of his 17 PGA Tour wins. But now, with the fifth win of this season on the verge, the caddie took the bold decision to step away, prioritizing his family, as per the recent PGA Tour post. The post in the caption wrote, “Scottie Scheffler will use fill-in caddie Brad Payne Sunday after Ted Scott returns home for a private family matter.” 

To fill the gap, Scheffler turned to Brad Payne—no stranger to the role—who had previously partnered with him during the PGA Championship. Payne will now carry the bag at TPC Southwind as Scheffler aims for yet another win.

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Moreover, this isn’t the first time Ted Scott has stepped away for family commitments. Earlier this season, he missed the third round of the PGA Championship to attend his daughter’s graduation. Reflecting on their understanding, Scheffler shared during the pre-round press conference, “That’s something we talked about from the beginning of our relationship, was family always comes first.”

Currently, Scheffler, with his third-place has recorded 12-under 198 with round scores of 67-66-65 in the three rounds. He is two shots behind the leader, Tommy Fleetwood, and one stroke behind Justin Rose. For the final round, he is scheduled to tee off with the current US Open champion, JJ Spaun, at 1:30 PM E.T. With the reigning FedEx Cup champion in substantial form, can this partnership result in a victory? Well, the decision to bring in Payne as the fill-in caddie is a strategic move considering their past partnership.

Scottie Scheffler’s past partnership with Brad Payne

Back in 2024, when Ted Scott took a similar step to step away from the event, the golfer, after his rounds of 67 and 66, called in Payne as his fill-in caddie. The new partnership resulted in a round of 73. The drop in performance led to him finishing in T8 place despite his final round of 65. But Scheffler trusts him more with the role, as he earlier said, “I trust him to rake a bunker more than my buddies.”

Payne serves as a chaplain to the PGA Tour players in his role at College Golf Fellowship. He has been a friend and mentor to Scheffler both on and off the course. They also belong to the same hometown, Dallas. Besides his relationship with Scheffler, Payne has partnered with multiple players in the past, including Paul Stankowski. Even the caddie had been a collegiate golfer at Pepperdine, where he added three top-three finishes in the West Coast Conference Men’s Golf Championship from 1989 to 1991.

Though with extensive experience in the course, Brad Payne has a strong record. But the past partnership with Scottie Scheffler for the PGA Championship, the result wasn’t on his side. Now, in the crucial final round of the St. Jude Championship, can the past result of their partnership change? Or will the performance dip continue? What do you think about the fill-in caddie partnership? Share with us in the comments below.