Nate Oxman always knew he was going to caddie at Merion. It simply was in his DNA.
His father, Lee, and uncle, Neil, both looped on the PGA Tour after graduating college in the early 1970s and the iconic course that has hosted five U.S. Opens was only 2 miles from his suburban Philadelphia residence. Neil Oxman, a political consultant by trade, later caddied for Tom Watson after his regular bagman, Bruce Edwards, passed away from ALS in 2004.
“I wasn’t cutting lawns and I wasn’t working at the supermarket,” said Nate, whose father caddied for Tom Purtzer when he won the 1977 Glen Campbell Los Angeles Open and then later for Pennsylvania legend Jim Simons. Simons played his way into Sunday’s final pairing of the 1971 U.S. Open at Merion as an amateur.
“I was going to loop.”
That love affair began at age 14 in 1995 and continues today for the 41-year-old middle school math and English teacher. Outside of a couple of years when he tried to make it as a sportswriter at Philadelphia Golfer, Oxman has supplemented his income by making hundreds of loops around this iconic venue that is hosting its 19th USGA championship this weekend.
For Oxman, the 42nd Curtis Cup Match is fulfilling a bucket list dream. Teaching duties prevented him from getting a bag in the 2009 Walker Cup or the 2013 U.S. Open. But with a little more seniority and a heartfelt letter to his principal “begging” for the week off – Haverford Middle School’s year doesn’t end until next week – Oxman is making his family proud as one of 16 caddies working the Match.
“This means more to my dad,” he said. “I knew how special [the Curtis Cup] was. It’s already exceeded my expectations.”
On Sunday, the club held the official draw for the 16 Merion caddies chosen to work the three-day competition between the USA and Great Britain & Ireland. To keep with the equitable spirit of the competition, caddies are randomly selected and assigned to players.
The selection process began last year when Merion caddie master Tim Carroll and Oxman, who serves as Carroll’s assistant, began hashing out possible candidates. That list was eventually trimmed to 18 – there are two alternates – and the highly anticipated caddie pairing party took place Sunday with club members and staff in attendance.
Oxman said all of the caddies were picked based on experience and professionalism. Each has embraced the opportunity, no matter which side they’re on.
The group includes John Hopkins, a cancer survivor who has worked at Merion since 1978. John Mainka, 71, is the oldest member. He caddied in the 1998 U.S. Girls’ Junior, 2005 U.S. Amateur and 2009 Walker Cup at Merion. He also caddied for USA Curtis Cup captain Sarah Ingram in the 1993 Women’s Eastern Amateur when she lost the championship match to Stephanie Sparks.
Michael Petrucelli, 70, has more than 50 years of experience, working the last eight at Merion. He was at nearby Philadelphia Country Club for four decades, and caddied on the LPGA Tour for Sandra Post, Jan Ferraris and Debbie Austin, as well as the PGA Tour for Kermit Zarley and Lee Elder. Yuman Jones and LaRue Temple were childhood buddies in a rough North Philadelphia neighborhood. Working at Merion 20-plus years has introduced them to influential figures that have enriched their lives.
Oxman’s first bag at Merion came in 1995, and he’s essentially never left. A journalism major at Penn State, he tried to make it as a local sportswriter – and left the caddie world – before he decided to join his wife as a teacher so they could be on the same schedule. With time off in the summer, the father of three young girls (ages 9, 6 and 2) returned to the Merion caddie yard and eventually took the role of assistant caddie master in 2009.
In the 2005 U.S. Amateur, after his player missed the cut for match play, Oxman was home when a frantic call came from Merion. Kevin Chappell’s caddie had failed to show. Could he fill in? His mother dropped him off and Oxman was on the first tee in a matter of minutes wearing a USGA caddie bib. Early in his Round-of-64 match, he gave Chappell a good read on a downhill, left-to-right breaking putt that he drained. The two bonded and advanced to the Round of 16.
On Sunday, University of Florida standout Annabell Fuller, of GB&I, drew Oxman’s name. Fuller is competing in her third Curtis Cup Match. She also qualified for the 2021 AIG Women’s British Open and last week’s U.S. Women’s Open.
“She can play,” said Oxman, no stranger to seeing high-level golf played at Merion. “She gets the golf course.”
Players from both sides are leaning heavily on their local caddies. Merion isn’t a layout that’s easy to navigate. Finding proper lines off the tee and navigating the subtleties in the green complexes takes time to master.
In turn, the competitors are getting to know the backstories of their loopers.
“Oh gosh, I just hear the stories,” said Rachel Kuehn, of the USA Team, whose caddie is LaRue Temple. “They just have so much knowledge. [My caddie] will talk and I’ll listen for hours, so it’s been a really nice dynamic.”
Hopkins, 56, first came to Merion in 1978 at the age of 12. He forecaddied in the 1981 U.S. Open and worked the range during the 1989 U.S. Amateur. He was one of the alternates for the 2009 Walker Cup, and in 2013, he helped Luke Donald and reigning U.S. Amateur champion Steven Fox prepare for the U.S. Open.
Six years ago, he was diagnosed with follicular lymphoma. Chemotherapy put the cancer into remission, but in January, another lump was found, this time in his hip area.
It hasn’t stopped him from doing what he loves, even though he must take off one week a month for chemo.
“I have less energy than normal years,” he said. “But I have enough to do it.”
Jones and Temple were discovered in Philadelphia by member Lisa Ginn. Ginn helped Temple be a batboy at Philadelphia Phillies games before leading him to Merion in 1997. Temple’s childhood buddy, Jones, followed a year later. Neither knew much about golf before coming to Merion. In fact, Jones was just 13 when he caddied for Californian Hana Kim in the U.S. Girls’ Junior.
Thanks to mentorship from some of the club’s veteran caddies, Jones and Temple both perfected their craft. Temple wound up landing Michael Kim in the 2013 U.S. Open when the University of California star was the low amateur (T-17). Fans were even yelling “LaRue! LaRue!” on the weekend.
Jones, a 24-year veteran of Merion, was the first caddie picked on Sunday by GB&I’s Lauren Walsh. As happenstance, Temple landed Walsh’s Wake Forest roommate and close friend, Kuehn, of the USA. During his time at Merion, the 37-year-old Jones has caddied for the likes of future NFL Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald, Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford, current LSU head coach Brian Kelly, two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Eli Manning and LPGA Tour star Lexi Thompson.
“I was humbled,” said Jones after learning he was picked for the Curtis Cup. “I’m really enjoying it. Every day I come out here and try to be the best caddie I can be.”
Petrucelli got his start in 1966 at Philadelphia Country Club. Back then, he got $2 for shagging balls and $4 for a loop. Four years later, he was on the LPGA Tour. In 2000, he caddied for Joe Daley in the U.S. Open. He eventually found his way to Merion in 2014, going through an extensive interview process with director of golf Scott Nye and Carroll. Going from Philadelphia C.C. to Merion turned out to be a smoother-than-expected transition, and “Petro” as his fellow caddies and Merion members call him, couldn’t be happier.
In fact, he gets choked up talking about how the last eight years has changed his life.
“This is a blessing,” said Petrucelli, who drew American Emilia Migliaccio. “I’m on the downside of my career, so to be [involved] with this is pretty special.”
Mainka, who drew American Megha Ganne, was considering leaving the profession a couple of years ago. He’d caddied at virtually every big event at Merion since the 1998 U.S. Girls’ Junior when he carried for the previous year’s runner-up Candie Kung. He had Lee Williams in the 2005 U.S. Amateur and Peter Uihlein for the victorious USA Walker Cup Team in ’09. Uihlein and Rickie Fowler, Oklahoma State teammates, each went 4-0 in the two-day event.
“I thought of retiring a couple of years ago,” said Mainka, “and they said you have to stick around for the Curtis Cup. I am glad I did.”
David Shefter is a senior staff writer for the USGA. Email him at dshefter@usga.org.