PGA Tour caddie links up with Tony Finau after sacking major champion

Multiple PGA Tour winner Tony Finau has a familiar face carrying his sticks at the RBC Heritage. 

The 36-year-old American has hired Wyndham Clark's former caddie, John Ellis, for this week's signature event at Harbour Town Golf Links. 

Ellis spent nearly a decade alongside Clark and shared many incredible moments on the course together, none more so than his first major championship success at the 2023 U.S. Open in Los Angeles. 

But Clark's form took a dive after the Ryder Cup in Italy and, in March, the pair decided to call time on their professional relationship. 

Ellis previously revealed he made the decision to part ways with Clark as he cared more about preserving their friendship. 

He has been without a job for the last six weeks but Finau has decided to see if they can work together on a permanent basis. 

Finau, 32, told the PGA Tour's Paul Hodowanic, that this week was a "vibe check". 

The six-time PGA Tour winner, currently 110th in the Official World Golf Ranking, enters the sixth signature event of the 2025/2026 season on the back of mixed results. 

Finau began the year poorly, missing back-to-back cuts in Hawaii, posed a top 15 at the Farmers Insurance Open and missed another cut at the WM Phoenix Open. 

Since then, Finau has not missed a cut and posted two top 20 finishes (AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Valspar Championship). 

But for the first time since 2018, Finau did not qualify for the 2026 Masters as he failed to finish inside the top 50 of the OWGR or qualify through other criteria. 

The 2026 RBC Heritage features an 82-man field and is headlined by world number one Scottie Scheffler. 

Justin Thomas returns to defend his title. 

Collin Morikawa, Shane Lowry, Xander Schauffele, Tommy Fleetwood, Sam Burns, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Jason Day, Jordan Spieth, Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg are also in the field.

What happened between Clark and Ellis?

Wyndham Clark and John Ellis were one of the longest-running player-caddie duos on the PGA Tour. 

They called time on their nine-year professional relationship in March, a week after the 2026 Players Championship. 

It followed another underwhelming start to Clark's campaign.

Ellis previously told an American radio station that there were no hard feelings. 

Although he indicated he was the one who initiated the split. 

"I care more about Wyndham and I's friendship," he said. 

"We're friends before business, and things just weren't right, and something had to give.

"I felt like it was just time, maybe a different voice for both of us would help.

"If I go on Instagram, it looks like there's a lot of hatred, but there's no hatred for Wyndham and I. 

"We're still friends, we texted yesterday, it's all good.

"It's part of the business, and I'm still going to root for him. I'm sure he'll root for me, whatever I do after this."

Clark has since hired Dave "Big Wave Dave" Pelekoudas to carry his clubs.