Meet Lexi Thompson’s New Caddie, Mark Wallington: Lifestyle, Relationship With Golfer & Other Details Explored

Lexi Thompson has an interesting history with her caddies. In addition to hiring professional bag men, Thompson has often had a family member on her bag throughout her career. Sometimes it’s her father, Scott, and other times her older brothers, Nicholas and Curtis, who both have experience on the PGA and Korn Ferry tours.

Nicholas caddied for his younger sister at the Solheim Cup and for much of last season. However, after the 2023 season, she hired Colton Heisey with plans to work together full-time in 2024. Despite this, the partnership didn’t last, leading the 11-time LPGA Tour winner to make another interesting change. This time, she has chosen Mark Wallington as her caddie, who is also her friend. Let’s explore more about her new bag, man.

What does Mark Wallington’s caddie life look like?

Mark Wallington has devoted considerable time to the greens but has maintained a highly private personal life with no Instagram account. However, he does have an account on X, where he mostly likes to post about golf and little about himself; apart from this, little personal information about him is available. The first time he appeared in front of the camera was at the 2011 Solheim Cup. At that time, he was caddying for Sophie Gustafson in Ireland while she represented Europe.

Later, after two years at the 2013 Solheim Cup at Colorado Golf Club in Parker, Colorado, USA Wallington was caddying for Charley Hull and she was representing Team Europe as well. They celebrated Hull’s victory over Paula Creamer during the Sunday singles matches. While the exact dates of Wallington’s career are not officially revealed, it’s safe to assume that Thompson’s friend has considerable experience in this field.

Aside from caddying for Hull, he was also the partner of Emily Pedersen during the 2017 Solheim Cup. Pedersen was also representing Team Europe at that time. It was Wallington’s fourth appearance with Pedersen on the professional greens. Considering his success with these pros at the Solheim Cup, he was given the title of a ‘lucky Charm’ on the National Club Golfer website.

Although Wallington hails from Warrington, England, his career extends beyond caddying for European golfers. He also spent a significant amount of time working with Lydia Ko. Given his experience with numerous top golfers, one might wonder how Mark Wallington came to meet Lexi Thompson.

How did Mark Wallington meet Lexi Thompson?

Colton Heisey helped Lexi Thompson during her last three starts on the LPGA Tour. However, since partnering with Wallington, Thompson appears to be enjoying her time on the greens more, attributing her recent success to their positive and supportive dynamic. Thompson is focused on making the most of her remaining time on the greens, which might explain her decision to hire her friend.

The 2024 Meijer LPGA Classic, was the first time when Thompson was spotted with Wallington as her bag man. Following that coming to the 2024 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship the golfer was asked about her new partner at the Press Conference“You look like you’re having so much fun out there. How did the partnership with your caddie, Mark, come about, and how is he helping you the most?” 

In response, the golfer excitedly replied, “I’ve known him for a very long time and we’ve always had a very great friendship. We get along so well; just never have worked together. I’ve always considered him one of my great friends out here that I go to, and vice versa. We always have a good laugh with each other and really look for each other in a friendship when needed.” Although both have been on the professional scene for a long time, Thompson mentioned that their interactions until 2024 were purely friendly and they had never considered working together.

The golfer further added about how they started working together and said, “So I was like, you know what? This sounds great. Let’s just work together and see how it does. No matter what, we’ll always have that friendship and bond. That will never leave us. Ended up working out. He’s amazing out there for me. He’s very positive, and that’s what I need out there.” Yes, Lexi Thompson’s response sounds very straightforward, but that’s how she has always kept things simple.

She also highlighted the impact of her friend as her caddie, which was evident at the 2024 Meijer LPGA Classic, where she finished tied for second with a total score of 272, 16-under par. Coming to the 2024 KMPG Women’s PGA Championship, she is leading the leaderboard after the first round. How do you think Lexi Thompson’s partnership with her friend will turn out for her remaining time on the greens? Share your thoughts in the comments below!