Caddies fighting through injuries to help their men

Austin Johnson’s left hand looked like a roadkill carcass.

After four hours carrying around the golf bag of his brother, Dustin, Austin took off a black cast and revealed the hand, drenched with sweat with the skin peeling back, equal colors pink and ghost white.

“It’s really hot right now,” Austin said Saturday afternoon at Augusta National, “and as you can see, the skin is just melting under there.”

Those gruesome after effects are from breaking the fifth metacarpal bone. After caddying for Dustin at the Players Championship in March, Austin was carrying a load of laundry and his wife’s luggage up the family’s stairs when the rain pants he uses to caddie fell out of the bottom of his bag and he slipped.

PHOTOS: Round 3 at Augusta National

As a golfer’s right-hand man, caddies are nearly as important as the golfer himself, and the thought of missing a tournament, especially the Masters, was never an option.

“Yeah, I wasn’t stopping," said Austin after Dustin’s 3-under 69 on Saturday. “It’s just hot and itchy, that’s all.”

Kevin Kisner’s caddie, Duane Bock, is fighting a broken toe on his right foot.

The injury isn’t ideal at any time, much less on a hilly course like Augusta National.

Bock has soldiered on with Kisner throughout the tournament, hobbling along from hole to hole. Instead of walking every step with Kisner, however, Bock has been handing Kisner a driver and walking down fairways to get a head start.

“He’s a wuss,” Kisner said jokingly after his even-par 72 on Saturday. “He’s struggling, and this isn’t the easiest place in the world to walk, but he’s not going to miss it. He says it’s getting better every day and he was struggling a little bit today.”

While Bubba Watson was on the putting green prior to Saturday’s round, his caddie, Ted Scott, left Watson to go tape up several of his toes before walking the 7,475-yard course.

“I asked what was wrong with his toe,” said Watson after a 5-under 67. “He goes, ‘I don’t know man, it’s hurting really bad.’ He thinks it might be an ingrown toenail, but I don’t know, I just let him do what he does.”

Often on the receiving end of expletives after bad shots, caddies are burdened with a plethora of tasks to get a golfer through the weekend, which makes it even more challenging while plodding along with an injury.

Watson gave Scott a hard time following Saturday’s round, but he understands the challenges of being a caddie.

“Obviously lifting the bag and doing all the things, holding the umbrella in certain times, their shoulders wear out," Watson said. “That’s why it’s amazing to watch (72-year-old Fluff Cowan) still get around golf courses, but he’s a legend so he can do that.”