By Hannah Mack, Sports@CJC

PINEHURST, N.C. — After being a professional golfer for five years, former University of Florida golfer Ryan Orr has switched from taking the shots to calling them. 

Orr caddied for Jackson Suber in the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 after Suber earned a late entry into the field as an alternate, thanks to Jon Rahm withdrawing because of a foot infection on Tuesday before the tournament.

Although Orr is fairly new to being on the bag for Suber, the two have known each other for a while. The pair grew up about 30 minutes from each other in the Tampa area, but their connection deepened after college.

Before the two became acquainted professionally, Orr played at UF from 2013-17. He competed in tournaments every season, with his best finish in the Sea Best Invitational as a senior.Orr won the tournament, shooting a career-low 6-under 204.

“Buddy Alexander, J.C. Deacon and John Handrigan are three of the best guys in the game, and they prepared me in every aspect possible for professional golf,” Orr said. “Now I’m helping out my good buddy Jackson Suber out here at the U.S. Open.”

Orr joined the PGA Tour Latinoamerica after finishing at UF, but ran out of money and couldn’t finish the season. Orr then took a break during COVID-19, but resurfaced and joined the PGA Tour Canada from 2022-23. 

“We both played in the Canadian Tour,” Orr said. “I got to know him [Suber] there. We stayed in contact and have a lot of mutual friends.”

Orr didn’t play well enough to keep his card and realized he needed to explore other options.

“It’s really tough,” Orr said. “Professional golf is a grind, even at the mini-tour levels. The guys are so good. You have to play really good golf and it’s really expensive. Then we switched almost full circle to caddieing.”

The opportunity arose for Orr to caddie for Suber last December on the Korn Ferry Tour in the Bahamas. Suber liked what he saw and wanted Orr to be on the bag full time. However, Orr wasn’t sure it would work with his schedule. 

“We took some time off together and then he needed a fill-in caddie two weeks ago in Raleigh for another Korn Ferry event,” Orr said. “We also did the U.S. Open qualifier the following Monday.”

Suber played in the final qualifier on June 3  in Rockville, Md. at Woodmont Country Club. He missed a shot foot putt on his final hole that would have clinched him a spot into the 156-player field directly. Instead, he settled for a playoff for the first- and second-alternate spots, where he earned his first-alternate slot.

Soon after, Suber discovered he was headed to Pinehurst and knew who was coming with him.

“Once we got first alternate, I told him I’d come here [Pinehurst] with him and if we needed to go to another event I would,” Orr said. “But luckily this worked out with him this week.”

Suber made the most of his first two days at the Open and made the cut shooting 3-over 142. 

“Him being a former player and a determined winner in college at an SEC school like Florida just brought a lot of great perspective out there,” Suber said. “I really trusted him when I was in between stuff. He would just give me insight when I didn’t know what my gut was telling me.”

Although Suber finished 18-over for the tournament, he bounced back in his final round after struggling in Round 3. The biggest takeaway for the duo was the joy the tournament brought to their lives.

“I love golf,” Orr said. “I love to still be apart of it and be in the tournament aspect of everything so I did it and I really enjoyed it,.”

Orr wasn’t the only Gator alum following Suber around the Pinehurst No. 2 course. Both of Suber’s parents graduated from UF, and they love having Orr on the bags.

“It was awesome having ‘Big Daddy’ on the bags up here,” said Suber’s father, Jack. His wife Elayne agreed.

As for the future, Orr said golf will be on the back burner, as he will take a job in the medical-device field in the coming weeks. But he’s always willing to help Suber if needed.

“If he needs a guy here or there I’d be glad to help him out,” Orr said. “Maybe down the line we might pair back up together.”

Orr was supposed to start his new job this week. However, his new boss surely understoof this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

It’s safe to say this won’t be the last time Orr and Suber team up and take on a tournament in the coming years.

Posted: June 17, 2024
Category: Covering the U.S. Open
Tagged as: 2024 U.S. Open, Covering the U.S. Open