Four caddies for CT Pan during final round with Shane Lowry

CADDY CAROUSEL: Shane Lowry settled with being the sideshow as playing partner CT Pan and his carousel of caddies brought some light relief to the final round of the RBC Canadian Open. Pic:Tim Heitman/Getty Images

Shane Lowry settled with being the sideshow as playing partner CT Pan and his carousel of caddies brought some light relief to the final round of the RBC Canadian Open.

Out of contention for the big prizes on Sunday at Hamilton Golf & Country Club, Lowry and Pan set off amid early morning showers which soon took a significant toll.

Veteran bagman Mike “Fluff” Cowan, once Tiger Woods’ confidante, took a worrying tumble down a hill on the side of the third hole. The 76-year-old wasn’t able to continue and so Pan plucked a fan out of the crowd to take over.

Paul Emerson lived his dream caddying for the Taiwanese pro until the fifth hole when a club caddie took over before Tour bagman Al Riddell, who lives nearby, picked things up on the tenth. At this point Lowry responded in trademark fashion.

“Fourth caddie?” he asked Pan. “That’s a f***king record now.” 

Lowry notched as many birdies as Pan had caddies but offset them somewhat with two bogeys to close with a 68 which left him on four-under overall. He was understandably distracted over the weekend here with events closer to home taking up some of his headspace.

Lowry raced through his third round and managed to catch most of the Offaly U20s’ All-Ireland hurling final glory on Saturday afternoon and was pleased to see the Faithful youngsters celebrate on Sunday at the bar he co-owns.

“Proud of these lads yesterday and great to have them back at the Old Warehouse Tullamore to celebrate today,” Lowry wrote on social media prior to his round. “It’s been a few years in the making and I hope ye enjoy every minute of it.” 

At the business end of proceedings in Hamilton, the local dream of back-to-back Canadian winners was alive as the final round heated up but their adopted son Rory McIlroy was eyeing a charge too.

Canuck Mackenzie Hughes went three-under for his first four holes to briefly move into a tie for the lead with Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre, seeking his first PGA title. But McIlroy also caught fire with four birdies before the turn to move just three shots off the lead at an event he’s won twice in recent years.