Off-season change of guard

TIME was when a caddie’s job was to carry the clubs and keep his mouth shut. Those days are long ago, especially where the professional game is concerned, and there has been as much talk about certain European Tour caddies in recent weeks as there has been about their employers.

It will be recalled that last year Colin Montgomerie summarily parted company with Alistair McLean, the man who had been at his side when Monty captured seven successive order of merit titles in succession and almost 13 years in total.

"It was one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make but I felt the time had come for a change," he said at the time.