Tommy Fleetwood To Have Caddie Ian Finnis Back On The Bag For First Time In Three Months
Tommy Fleetwood's long-time caddie Ian Finnis is back in action at this week's Scottish Open after undergoing heart surgery in April
![Tommy Fleetwood of England talks with his caddie Ian Finnis on the 16th tee on Day Two of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club on January 19, 2024 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/X7Ez3SzmVSxUdH9WbYZWwR-415-80.jpg)
Tommy Fleetwood has reunited with his longtime caddie Ian Finnis at this week’s Scottish Open, after the 44-year-old looper was sidelined for more than three months with a life-threatening health issue.
Finnis, who has worked with close friend Fleetwood since 2016, was forced to step back from his caddying duties after getting hospitalized a few weeks before the Masters in April following a bout of poor health.
His condition then took a turn for the worse and he required open-heart surgery in late April.
Finnis said he was “very lucky” after he was found to have had bacteria in a hole in his heart.
“They are not exactly sure what happened but bacteria got into a hole in my heart that I’d lived with previously with no problems and then ate away both valves,” he told The Telegraph in May.
“They opened me up and the amazing surgeon, Mr Generali, fitted a metal valve and by some miracle he fixed the other valve, saving me from getting a tissue one which would have had to be replaced every seven years or so.”
Finnis has now recovered and has been helping Fleetwood prepare for this week's Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club.
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Good to see Ian Finnis back on @TommyFleetwood1's bag this week @ScottishOpen after undergoing heart surgery in April! pic.twitter.com/o0Wwdn6WvwJuly 10, 2024
Innis last looped for Fleetwood at the Players’ Championship in March and has missed nine events, including the first three Majors of the year.
In Innis’ absence, Fleetwood had Augusta National caddie Gray Moore on his bag for the Masters. He then hired experienced looper David Clark, who is now Ian Poulter’s caddie.
Fleetwood and Innis have been close friends since they were teenagers, and have won six titles during the seven years they have worked together.
“I’ve spoken to him a lot through the whole thing, obviously, and the process went from not knowing what’s wrong to finding out and not believing this is actually happening, to worrying about the operation,” Fleetwood told The Telegraph following Innis’ surgery.
“You get wrapped up in what you’re doing out here, but this has told us that health is everything.”
Joel Kulasingham is freelance writer for Golf Monthly. He has worked as a sports reporter and editor in New Zealand for more than five years, covering a wide range of sports including golf, rugby and football. He moved to London in 2023 and writes for several publications in the UK and abroad. He is a life-long sports nut and has been obsessed with golf since first swinging a club at the age of 13. These days he spends most of his time watching, reading and writing about sports, and playing mediocre golf at courses around London.
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