Alejandro Tosti‘s ex-caddie Cliff Ellis had been dealing with problems with him all week. But on the ninth hole of Tosti’s first round at the Biltmore Championship, he finally had enough. Now, Ellis has openly spoken about what happened.
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He spoke to Tea Box Golf Radio, with the interview later shared by NUCLR GOLF on X on September 25. His side of the story suggests the umbrella argument was not the only problem. It was the moment when weeks of tension between the caddie and Tosti finally boiled over. And honestly, it makes the sudden walk-off look like the end of a much bigger problem.
“The whole week, this week was just ludicrous,” Ellis said. “A lot of just off the wall and insane things were going on all week between him and I. The day was bad. It was just terrible.”
The problems started on the driving range Thursday morning, before the round even began. Ellis said he and Tosti had a “tussle” over where to place the golf bag. He tried to calm things down and get Tosti focused on the round. But the tension did not go away.
By the time they reached the 18th hole—and their ninth of the day—things had already been building for hours. As Ellis picked up the bag near the 18th hole, Tosti asked why the umbrella was inside. Ellis explained that Tosti often uses it to get some shade while walking, so he thought it was useful to have it there. And there was some chance of rain. Tosti, who prides himself on carrying the lightest bag on Tour, disagreed and questioned why it needed to be in the bag. Ellis said he tried to brush it off and keep the focus on the round. But the conversation soon became personal.
“He said ‘sounds like you’re a —’. He took a personal attack. He used a word I can’t use here on the radio. In the video you can kinda see me pointing to myself, like ‘you’re gonna call me that over this?’ I said ‘I’m gonna let you walk that back real quick and we can go forward,’ but he doubled down on it so I said ‘you know what, I am done with you, I am outta here, I quit.’ He said ‘are you kidding me?’ and I said ‘I’m not kidding you—who would put themselves through this?’”
Ellis said he was, then removed his caddie bib, put the bag down, and walked away. Tosti had to ask a spectator to carry his bag for the rest of the round and finished with a 1-over 72. Later, Tosti joked to Golfweek that Ellis “couldn’t keep up with eight pars in a row.”
Patrick Talledo then took over as his caddie for the second round. The umbrella was clearly not the real issue here. Ellis’ account suggests it was simply the moment when a week of tension finally boiled over.
According to Ryan French of Monday Q, Ellis had been working with Alejandro Tosti since May 2026, starting at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. They worked together at eight events and the final stage of U.S. Open qualifying, but made only one cut together. That came at the Canadian Open, where Tosti finished T-40. Cliff Ellis said that Tosti paid him six percent of his prize money instead of giving him a weekly salary.
French also reported an earlier problem at the Rocket Classic. Ellis said Tosti became angry and threw a club toward the bag, although he made it clear that he did not think Tosti aimed the club at him. Tosti has challenged parts of Ellis’ account, including what he said during the argument on the 18th hole and his actions after the 17th. So, based on Ellis’ account, the umbrella was not really the main problem. It was simply the final moment in a series of arguments that had been going on for months. Tosti later missed the cut at the Biltmore Championship after rounds of 72 and 71.
A 6% share of prize money is not unusual for a PGA Tour caddie, although many caddies also get a weekly base payment. GOLF.com has reported that some deals include $1,000 to $2,500 per week, along with 6% of the player’s earnings. Ellis said his deal with Tosti was different because he only got 6% of the prize money and did not have a weekly salary.
That meant he only earned money when Tosti made money in a tournament. Player-caddie arguments are also nothing new in golf, but a caddie walking away in the middle of a round is still pretty unusual. In 2014, Brian Stuard’s caddie Michael Lawson quit during the Barracuda Championship after an argument, and a spectator ended up carrying the bag. In 2015, Robert Allenby’s caddie Mick Middlemo also walked off during the RBC Canadian Open after a dispute. So, while player-caddie fights have happened before, a caddie quitting in the middle of a round is still a rare sight in professional golf.
For Cliff Ellis, walking away seemed to be the only way to end the situation. When asked if he regretted his decision, his answer was simple: he questioned why anyone would keep putting themselves through that kind of situation, and honestly, after hearing his side of the story, it is easy to understand why the umbrella was not the real reason he quit.