Daniel Berger returns to competition this week at the American Express after a year and a half off due to a disc injury in his back. Obviously, the first thing he needed to play is a new caddie. This is where one of the most fun and surprising hires of recent years took place.
Berger called D.J. Nelson, a veteran and successful American caddie who worked in the past with Heath Slocum, Chad Campbell or Hudson Swafford, among others, although he had been away from the playing fields for a while. In a way, you could say he was semi-retired.
Berger asked him if he was willing to carry his bag at the American Express and Nelson’s response, a yes without hesitation, surprised the American golfer a lot. “Are you sure? So, are you going to stop working on TV?”, Golfweek assures he replied.
Berger’s comment left Nelson even more surprised. “But, who do you think you’re calling?”, the caddie clarified. “To John Wood, right?”, the player finally revealed the mistake that was being made.
John Wood, indeed, has been one of the most respected caddies on the PGA Tour in recent years, but he has been working as a commentator for NBC and Golf Channel for a while. “That call is a very typical Berger mistake”, adds a caddie who worked with him in the past.
Be that as it may, once the phone mix-up was resolved, Berger decided not to back down and offered Nelson the job just for this week at the American Express. The veteran caddie accepted. It doesn’t seem like too crazy a mistake, since Nelson won this same American Express with Hudson Swafford in 2017.
Berger last played at the 2022 US Open. He tried to return in the run-up to last year’s US Open, but withdrew after hitting the first shot when he felt discomfort again. “When I come back it will be because I’m ready to compete again”, he recently explained in an interview with AP. Now, the time has come, with DJ Nelson in the bag.
