Bryson DeChambeau is known for his calculating, scientific approach to the game, but he didn’t go at it solo. For a while, Tim Tucker was right there next to the golfer, handling the math.
How has this sort of talent and attention to detail helped the caddie in his career?
Read on to learn all about Tim Tucker’s net worth, wiki, bio, and enterprises. We’ll take a long, hard look at his years with golf’s “Mad Scientist” DeChambeau and what came after the duo parted ways.
Tim Tucker’s Profile: Key Facts
Before we dig deep into Tucker’s career and net worth, let’s check out some facts about him:
- Profession: Caddie and entrepreneur
- Age: 55 years old
- Nationality: American
- Hometown: Coos Bay, Oregon
Tim Tucker’s Early Life and Background
Tim Tucker was born in Coos Bay, Oregon, and spent four years serving in the U.S. Air Force. Later, he worked as a security officer for the U.S. State Department for three years.
Safe to say, he has an extensive background in discipline and attention to detail.
Before becoming a top-tier caddie, Tucker gained competitive playing experience as an amateur golf player. He competed at the 2007 Mid-Amateur Championship and 2013 Pacific Northwest Men’s Amateur tournament.
Still, his greatest successes would come from carrying the bag rather than swinging the clubs himself.
Not much is known about the caddie’s personal life, though. He mostly keeps to himself, and his Instagram account only has a handful of highlights from his career. Of course, one of those few pictures is the U.S. Open Trophy, gifted to him by Bryson DeChambeau.
Tim Tucker’s Career: Between Caddying and Entrepreneurship
Tim Tucker has made a fruitful career as a pro caddie. His journey has seen him lift trophies with some of the game’s biggest stars along the way.
But his entrepreneurial spirit also meant that his career was about more than just caddying.
Here are three highlights that define his success story so far:
Bryson DeChambeau’s Caddie
Tucker’s breakthrough was when he began working with Bryson DeChambeau. The two first teamed up back in the 2016 Memorial tournament and formed a strong relationship right away.
One of the reasons DeChambeau particularly valued working with Tucker is the caddie’s expertise with the vector green-reading system.
The two worked hand-in-hand until mid-2017, when DeChambeau briefly changed caddies and hired Micah Fugitt. However, he and Tucker reunited in 2018 and enjoyed further success.
All in all, they celebrated eight PGA Tour wins, including DeChambeau’s career-defining 2020 U.S. Open title.
Unfortunately, the player-caddie partnership ended abruptly when they decided to part ways in 2021 on the eve of the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Why Tucker and DeChambeau Parted Ways
According to Tucker’s account of the split, he decided to leave DeChambeau’s bag due to a combination of factors.
DeChambeau had apparently become extremely demanding with his exhaustive pre-tournament preparation process. This included painstaking calculations of yardages and green conditions, plus all sorts of eccentric ball experiments.
He would actually consider freezing balls, heating them in a tub, and soaking them in an attempt to find the perfect spin rate.
Still, Tucker admitted that he was grateful for their time together and even went as far as expressing some regret about how he left DeChambeau.
The sudden split right came as a shock in the golf world at the time, but the two are still friends and are thriving in their careers.
Other Business Ventures
After splitting from DeChambeau, Tucker returned to Oregon for a business venture. But he didn’t walk away from the sport altogether.
Instead, he launched a luxury transportation company called Loop Golf Transportation, catering specifically to golfers visiting Bandon Dunes Golf Resort Club.
With a fleet of first-class buses and experienced drivers, the service is all about providing comfortable travel to the iconic golf destination.
But Loop wasn’t Tucker’s only venture.
The professional caddie also developed a specialized putting alignment marker product called True Aim, born out of his extensive expertise in reading greens.
You can get the True Aim markers from the official website or grab ball markers from other brands if Tucker’s invention doesn’t work well for you.
Kurt Kitayama’s Caddie
Interestingly, Tucker’s business ventures put him back inside the caddying business with Kurt Kitayama.
After connecting through a family referral in Oregon who knew Tucker, the caddie and the golfer joined forces in 2023.
Incredibly, Tucker helped guide Kitayama to a breakthrough tour win after only a few weeks of working together—that was none other than the Arnold Palmer Invitational on March 5.
Now, with perfect player-caddie chemistry, the Tucker-and-Kitayama team looks like it’s ready for more big-time successes ahead.
Tim Tucker’s Income and Net Worth Estimates
Some of Tucker’s highest paydays came during his successful partnership with Bryson DeChambeau between 2016 and 2021.
Caddies typically receive 10% of a player’s prize money for each event, meaning Tucker took home substantial six-figure checks in tandem with DeChambeau wins.
Reports had Tucker earning $353,801 just in 2020 alone. That paycheck put him among the top-paid caddies that year. He also got a $120K base salary on top of his cut percentage.
After DeChambeau’s split with Tucker, he was replaced by Brian Zeigler.
Zeigler probably expected large paydays coming his way—so much so that some experts even said that “Tucker’s loss is Zeigler’s gain.” That’s mainly because DeChambeau won around $5.5 million of prize money in 2020, with Zeigler on this side to enjoy the fruits of the partnership.
Still, Tucker found other money-making opportunities after leaving DeChambeau.
After all, his return to caddying with Kurt Kitayama quickly paid dividends. Kitayama’s $3.6 million check for winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational meant Tucker got around $360,000, going by standard the 10% cut.
While his exact net worth is unknown, estimates suggest it’s in the ballpark of $1.5 million. Keep in mind that you have to account for all his caddying income plus his business profits.
Final Words
Tim Tucker’s winning chemistry with Bryson DeChambeau made them one of the sport’s iconic player-caddie teams.
Although Tucker may not be earning as lucratively as during his years with DeChambeau, Tucker continues finding success with new players while also pursuing business opportunities on the side!
