Ever since he ended Tiger Woods’ five-year reign as the world No. 1 in the early 2000s, one thing that became apparent about Vijay Singh was his passion for golf. At 63, he’s no longer competing in the PGA Tour, but he is still going strong with his cruel regimen. He’s still at the gym early in the morning, breaking a sweat with some high-intensity drills before stepping on the green from 6 am and long into the evening. That’s, honestly, what still keeps him among one of the best at the PGA Tour Champions. The brutal reality of all that passion, however, was never lost on his caddies.

In January, Singh’s caddie from 2017, Kip Henley, revealed that the Hall of Famer was just as mean to everyone around him during his practices as he was to himself. “He cuts you to the bone every day,” Henley recalled. Of course, there are an abundance of pros when you caddie for a legend of the game, but that same thing can also become the Achilles’ heel at times. But Singh’s last caddie, who abruptly “fired” him on the Tuesday before the SAS Championship week, could be kicking himself for letting that come in his way, but Singh understands…

“Well, my caddie fired me this Tuesday. I think I was a little — I was getting onto him too much,” Singh said on Saturday ahead of the final round. “It’s good to have Wayne back. We worked together for a while. Just comfortable.

“Get on the tee, you don’t have to think about too much. And he’s doing most of the thinking. You just have to hit it. It’s pretty good. I’m happy to have him back.”

Singh had not won a championship on the Tour since the 2023 Ally Challenge. Turns out, the 63-year-old had been going through a ‘relaxed phase’. Because of back pain issues, that devotion to golf that saw him maniacally shoot over 500 balls in one practice session somehow dispersed. But when the Fijian golfer decided to return to his usual form, it became a little too much for his undisclosed caddie. Seeing the former world No. 1 win, however, would certainly make him think what if, because this win means a lot for Singh — and by extension to his caddie — in many ways.

For starters, he gets the 15% piece of the $2.3 million total purse senior event, bringing in $345,000 into his pocket. As a caddie for a former world No. 1, we can expect a high cut, at least ten percent of that. But there was a lot riding on whoever won the event.

You see, the dollars from that check are equally converted to the Charles Schwab Cup points since the SAS Championship is an official event on the PGA Tour Champions schedule. And so, with his first win in nine appearances for the event at Prestonwood Country Club, in Cary, North Carolina, Singh also earned 345,000 points. He effectively moved from No. 57 to No. 33 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings. But for him, it was the case of ‘all’s well that ends well.’

Fate quite literally worked in Vijay Singh’s favor this week

Singh winning for the sixth time in the Champions Tour was the work of his consistency despite a slow start. But his finding his caddie replacement was simply fate.

The Fijian golfer replaced the unidentified caddie with his former caddie, Wayne De Haas, and carded three straight rounds of 3-under 69 for a total of 9-under 207 to claim a two-shot victory over Ernie Els. That years of friendship and good teamwork were apparent when Singh embraced De Haas as soon as he sank his par putt on the 18th hole.

That said, Singh was fortunate that De Haas, a former professional golfer who competed on the DP World Tour, was available to step in at such short notice.

“All a coincidence. He lost his job on the Korn Ferry, and my caddie fired me this week, and I just called up Wayne, and I said, ‘Hey, are you ready?’” Vijay Singh revealed. “He said, ‘Yeah.’ You know, it was a good team because I missed him. I missed what he brings to the teamwork. It was so much easier to play golf with somebody really knowing what they’re doing.”

It’s unclear who De Haas was caddying for on the Korn Ferry Tour. However, he has previously worked for Cameron Young and Ernie Els, Sunday’s runner-up. De Haas was more than happy to receive the phone call from Singh to caddie.

“This one is a bittersweet one for me,” De Haas said after Singh’s win. “Unfortunately, my dad passed two years ago. I was on the 8th tee box [during the SAS Championship] when I found out my dad had passed away. So this is for him.”

While things turned out well for Vijay Singh and De Haas, Singh has experienced a fair share of his caddies leaving him.

Carrying the bag for Singh isn’t easy, previous stories reveal

Back in 2005, despite Singh making a big name for himself, his regimen was too much for his caddies. So much so that the British caddie Dave Renwick was prepared to give up the lucrative position for the third time.

“We’re still friends but I wasn’t enjoying working for Vijay, even though I was making a lot of money,” he told The Guardian in 2005. “I’d wake up in the morning and not really look forward to the day’s work.”

He had previously caddied for Singh between 1997 and 2000 and then over the second half of 2003. He had been at Singh’s bag for most of 2004, but he was simply done.

“There’s been very little fun working for Vijay, even during practice rounds,” he had claimed.

He wasn’t alone to feel that way.

“He was so hard to work for because he’s brutal,” Henley said on Subpar in January. “I’m a thin-skinned guy. That’s the worst trait you can have as a PGA Tour caddie. That’s why I always got along great with Colt and I lasted 10 years with Brian Gay, because they weren’t mean, but he’s mean.

“He cuts you to the bone every day. But it was more amazing working for him than anybody I ever worked for.”

Henley had also confessed that off weeks for Singh and his team were much more demanding than the tournament weeks because they would go to Jacksonville and practice all day long. Yet, he believes he was also the best golfer to work for.

“He’s the most amazing guy I’ve ever worked [for],” he continued. “He taught me something about discipline. I thought I was disciplined. I hit balls and practiced, did all the hand bleeding and all that crap. Dude. I didn’t touch his work ethic. It was insane.

“You’d never reach in your wallet when you’re on Vijay’s team. That cat, he’s buying everything. Most of the work with Vij is a wonderful job.”

Interestingly, it wasn’t the first fallout this year between a caddie and a golfer.

Many caddies drop off their golfers in 2026

Veteran caddie Darren Woolard reportedly reached his breaking point after a frustrating 54 holes with David Lipsky at the Baycurrent Classic at Yokohama Country Club in Japan.

After opening with a promising 66 on Thursday, Lipsky carded rounds of 72 and 73, with bogeys on two of his final three holes on Saturday adding to the frustration. With tensions reportedly mounting, Woolard decided to call it quits after the third round, telling Lipsky to find someone else to carry his bag. 

Lipsky subsequently brought in a replacement for Sunday’s final round, reportedly his physiotherapist, and finished tied for 54th. In another example, during the first round of the Biltmore Championship on September 17, 2026, caddie Cliff Ellis abruptly walked off the bag for Argentine golfer Alejandro Tosti midway through the round at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove in Asheville, North Carolina.

The split reportedly followed simmering tensions and an argument over an umbrella and bag logistics. Ellis eventually set down the bag, removed his caddie bib, and left. Tosti initially thought Ellis had simply gone to the bathroom. Once he realized Ellis had abandoned him, Tosti recruited a spectator to carry his bag for the remaining holes. Tosti carded a 1-over-par 72 in the opening round but ultimately missed the cut. 

For now, Singh would be hoping he doesn’t get De Haas worked up, or he will be back on the market searching for another partner on the green.