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Keith Mitchell’s caddie is the real life version of the caddie in 'Happy Gilmore'
Sam Greenwood
On Saturday at the Honda Classic, Keith Mitchell, who would eventually go on to grab his first career victory with a birdie at the 72nd hole, played in the final group alongside Sungjae Im. That coupled with the fact that Rickie Fowler and Vijay Singh—arguably the two biggest names at the top of the leader board along with Brooks Koepka—had finished their rounds earlier in the day earned Mitchell a lot of screen time on NBC, as his third-round 70 kept him in the mix heading into Sunday.
Because of that, many golf fans who may have not even heard of Mitchell before were also introduced to his caddie Pete Persolja, whose appearance alone instantly grabs your attention. But there was another reason fans on social media were intrigued by his presence, and it was because he was using a compass as he and Mitchell navigated "The Bear Trap." Here's a Twitter photo (with Persolja's head missing) of him holding the compass:
And here's another where you can actually see Persolja, better known as "Crunchy Pete," which is easily the best caddie nickname on tour:
The compass, as NBC's Paul Azinger pointed out during Saturday's coverage, is completely legal, and it's fitting that Persolja would use one as he calls himself "the caddie version of Bear Grylls" in his Twitter bio. Unfortunately, with all the Sunday chaos at the Honda, (Rickie surging, Vijay in the mix, Koepka going low, etc.) Mitchell and his right-hand man got lost in the crowd, which is understandable. But thanks to Mitchell's winning putt (and hopefully this post), Persolja is getting some well-deserved shine on social media. We like the Bear Grylls comparison, but doesn't he look a LOT more like the caddie from "Happy Gilmore"?
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Apparently, we are not alone in thinking this, as many on Twitter have made the same comparison:
There were plenty of other solid jokes as well. Some of our favorites:
By the way, here is Persolja's full Twitter bio, which seems just about perfect:
And that's not all. His Twitter account is full of quotes that belong on plaques. Seriously, some of these would look great on my desk at work:
Among Pete's hobbies? Wrasslin' gators, kayaking, fitness and eating steak:
What. A. Legend. If you're not following Pete already, go smash that follow button @CrunchManPete immediately. He's our new favorite caddie, your new favorite caddie and your favorite caddie's favorite caddie. He's also in for a NICE pay day (as long as Mitchell tips a bit better than... ah, NVM):
Congrats to Pete, and we wish him nothing but the best for the rest of the season. And please, never shave the beard, Crunchman.