From 'default industry' in Edinburgh to caddying on PGA Tour in US
Tim Poyser on seeing his ‘luck’ change since teaming up with rising star Kristoffer Reitan
He started working life in Edinburgh’s “default industry” at the time before hitting 30 and deciding that “there’s got to be more to life than this”. Having been proved right since opting to quit financial services to become a full-time caddie, Tim Poyser is now about to embark on an incredibly exciting 2026, including a first working visit to The Masters.
The 46-year-old was close to calling it quits in his new career after a “very frustrating 2024” and feeling he was “going nowhere” in an industry that has massive highs for a lucky few but is a school of hard knocks for the majority who decide to pick up a golf bag for a living. He then linked up with Kristoffer Reitan just under a year ago and it’s been onwards and upwards ever since.
The Norwegian landed his maiden DP World Tour title when winning the Soudal Open in Belgium last May and went on to be among the ten players to secure 2026 PGA Tour cards through the Race to Dubai. Underlining his status as one of the game’s new stars, Reitan then landed an even bigger victory in the Nedbank Golf Challenge in honour of Gary Player at Sun City in South Africa in December.
“I was looking to go back to club-building or teaching,” admitted Poyser, a qualified PGA professional who was reinstated as an amateur three years ago and is a member of Musselburgh Golf Club. “But your luck as a caddie can change at any point and, fortunately, it did for me.”
Reitan starts his PGA Tour campaign in next week’s Sony Open in Hawaii, where the field in the season-opener at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu will also include Scottish No 1 and world No 7 Bob MacIntyre. “I can’t wait,” said Poyser. “I did eight years on the DP World Tour. I feel like I am ready for the new challenge in my caddying career and it will be fun to see new courses.”
Caddying at The Masters will be ‘super special’
Straight before our chat, he’d been on YouTube checking out clips from past editions of the Sony Open, with other early-season assignments including a double-header in California for The American Express and Farmers Insurance Open then the WM Phoenix Open in Arizona. “I remember when Tiger made a hole in one there in 1996 as I was watching it live on TV,” recalled Poyser. “It’s hard to believe that’s 30 years ago!”
Having climbed into the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking on the back of his double triumph in the 2025 calendar campaign - he’s starting out the new year sitting 31st - Reitan will be heading to Augusta National in April to make his debut in The Masters.
“Yeah, it is super special,” admitted Poyser of having that week to look forward to. “I was lucky enough to go to The Masters in 2010 just to spectate, so at least I’ve seen a little bit of what it is about. It’s the one that everyone talks about initially, but there are a lot of tournaments before that, so you are just trying to keep it in the back of your mind. I think Kris plans to go there at some point before The Masters just to get over that ‘wow’ factor.”
Like fellow Lothians man Stuart Beck, who steered Adrian Meronk to three DP World Tour victories and joined the Pole when he became a LIV Golf player, Poyser gave up a good job in Edinburgh to pursue a caddying career. “When I left school at 18, I didn’t go to college or university - I went straight into work,” he recalled. “I worked at Scottish Provident as an office junior and ended up doing five years there before moving to Standard Life and started doing my investment exams. I was also at Johnston Financial as a paraplanner and financial advisor for a bit.
“It was the default industry in Edinburgh at the time and I was doing alright. But you always felt that little bit of unfulfillment when you were doing office jobs and, when I turned 30, I was like ‘there’s got to be more to life than this’.”
Ally Mackenzie, his flatmate at the time and now the head professional at Trump International Golf Club in Jupiter, had just done a caddying stint over the winter at Old Collier Golf Club in Naples in Florida and doing likewise the following year and a few more after that laid the foundation for Poyser to be where he is now. “After coming back from the States in May 2017, I started working pretty much full-time with Connor Syme once he got his main tour card and I’ve been on the main tour since then,” he said.
On Syme’s bag, Poyser came close to landing an early win when his fellow Scot finished second in the Shot Clock Masters in Austria in 2018. Another close call came with Hurly Long as the German finished second in the 2023 Horizon Irish Open, with Reitain also claiming a runner-up spot with him before the play-off victory in Belgium. “It was nice to finally get a win,” he admitted.
‘He’s just got to keep believing in himself’
Reitan, of course, will be bidding to follow in the footsteps of compatriot Viktor Hovland by becoming a winner on both the DP World Tour and PGA Tour, with his bagman believing the sky is the limit for the 27-year-old after graduating from the Challenge Tour at the end of 2024 then securing a step up to the PGA Tour at the first attempt.
“You want to go out there and win, which he is more than capable of doing,” declared Poyser. “He played with both Rory [McIlroy] and Scottie [Scheffler] last year and he can 100 per cent compete at that level, without a shadow of doubt. He’s just got to keep believing in himself.
“He really wants it and is super-focused on the golf course. He’s not always the easiest (to work with) because he almost wants perfection, but I feel my standards are pretty high as well. I wouldn’t want to caddie for anyone who is lazy or anything like that, so I think we get on well from that aspect - we are both determined to do well!”
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.