This longtime caddie enjoying pro debut at Dick's Open — with Fluff Cowan on his bag

USA Today

11-07-2025

ENDICOTT, N.Y. — Imagine a dream weekend playing golf. Who are you playing with? Do you have a caddie? Which golf course are you playing at? What's your tee time?
The answers probably come to mind instantly, but it stays a dream — just a picturesque world created by an impossibly fictional scenario.
Derek Sanders' dream was to always play in three major events: A PGA Tour qualifying event, the PGA Tour and a PGA Tour Champions tournament. He'd accomplished the first two, and the final felt like that distant pipe dream.
Until last week, when he got the phone call from Dick's Open Tournament Director John Karedes while brushing his teeth to get ready to attend a wedding.
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'I still wake up every morning thinking it's a dream,' Sanders said. 'But it's getting really close to tee time.'
Sanders knows everything imaginable about the En-Joie Golf Club. He knows how the ball rolls down the fairways, which greens are harder than others and where to lay off if he can't get to a par five.
He's been around the course for years as a caddie. And for the first time in his career, he's teeing off at the Dick's Open in his first PGA Tour Champions tournament.
'It's overwhelming,' Sanders said. 'Being a caddie for 12, 15 years out here, and then John (Karedes) giving me the spot to come play with these guys is a dream. I mean, you can't make this up.'
Sanders had only had mere days to prepare for the tournament. He played in the Pro-Am with the other professionals, partook in the two practice days beforehand. But he took a 7:15 a.m. flight to New York the morning after the wedding he attended — which was last Saturday night.
He didn't even get a chance to bring his family or friends along with him. Instead, he'll have his caddie, Mike 'Fluff' Cowan.
Yes, that's the same Fluff who was Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk's caddie, who's been caddying for nearly 50 years.
'Then I've got Fluff on the bag, the Hall of Fame caddie,' Sanders said. 'It's a good week, it's just amazing.'
Sanders will have one other familiar face, though he'll also be playing in the Dick's Open. Jason Caron, who Sanders worked with as a caddie during the U.S. Senior Open just two weeks ago.
Caron said the two of them have a lot in common, which helped him trust Sanders so quickly. He's encouraged Sanders to soak up the experience at the Dick's Open, and to use his knowledge of golf as a caddie to his own advantage throughout the tournament.
'He loves the game of golf and he does a great job,' Caron said. 'I mean, you can't really ask for anything more than that.'
With the dream opportunity in front of him, Sanders said he's turning his focus toward playing well. He's been given numerous tips and pieces of advice from other golfers, including Caron, but it's been pretty cliché.
'You're gonna want to downplay it because he wants to perform well, that's the problem, right?' Caron said. 'The more you downplay like you're playing with your buddies, he can go make five, six, seven birdies around and shoot decent scores and finish up there. You never know, right? So I just want him to go and have a good time, and hopefully, he'll enjoy the experience.'
Play like you're playing with your friends, play your own game and just have fun with the experience. But Sanders is still a competitor, and even if this is his first PGA Tour Champions event, he wants to do well.
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He never had nerves as a caddie. Sanders had the up close and personal chance to see golfers win championships and get frustrated having a bad day on the course. Now he wants to make a good impression in his tournament debut.
Sanders is almost hyperaware of the pairs of eyes that will fall on him now that he's one of the competitors. He's watched golf fans glue their eyes to the pros, while he's looked on and prepared to offer whatever advice needed after the swing. It elevates the heart rate, but it's not completely unmanageable, he said.
But then there's the nerves of playing against some of the best golfers in the world.
'If I didn't know any of these guys, and they weren't professionals and they didn't have six major wins like Ernie Els or (Miguel Angel) Jimenez and Jerry Kelly I don't think I'd be that nervous,' Sanders said. 'But now I'm going out and teeing off second, and I'm gonna be a little nervous.'
And although Sanders will claim he's not superstitious, he used to never play with a ball that's marked number two. It's not something he's worried about recently, but did mention when he steps to the tee box Friday morning, he'll double check to avoid that number.
Then, he'll take his first swing of the tournament, and use the bits of knowledge he's gained watching the pros play to his advantage.
And make his dream weekend of playing golf come true.
'I have all this stuff in my book,' Sanders said. 'It's just executing and having some confidence to take the next step.'