Meet Tom Kim’s Caddie, Paul Tesori: Personal Life, Relationship With Golfer & Other Details Explored

In the past few months, Tom Kim has had two caddie changes. At the end of 2024, the South Korean prodigy parted ways with his former looper Joe Skovron after two years of long stints. Skovron has been in Ludvig Aberg’s bag and Kim found a bagman in Daniel Parratt in the early 2024 season.

The two were getting along quite right, but for some reason, Kim was again caddie-less and needed a new looper. He then decided to partner up with a veteran PGA Tour caddie and former player, Paul Tesori. Who is Tesori and how did he become one of the best caddies on the PGA Tour?

Where was Paul Tesori born?

In 1973, Paul Tesori was born in the oldest city in the United States, St. Augustine, Florida. Tesori had always been keen on playing sports, whether that be basketball, golf, or football. However, golf was something that took more of his time, as he took inspiration from 7-time PGA Tour winner Peter Jacobsen.

Tesori had made up his mind that he would be a golfer as a professional. The son of Al and Nangy Tesori was then admitted to St. Augustine High School, where he practiced as a junior golfer and started playing good golf each day. Soon he graduated and played collegiate golf for the Central Alabama CC from 1990 to 1992.

However, after two years, Tesori decided to transfer to the University of Florida and continue his golf stint. Tesori joined the Gators golf team in 1992 as a player, but due to uneven results on the course, he primarily served as an alternate. He didn’t play any golf tournaments that year but was a huge motivator for the Gators, which he still is.

Coming into his senior year, Tesori was given a chance by UF golf coach Buddy Alexander. And the then-amateur didn’t disappoint him. Tesori won the 13th individual championship in his senior year and helped his team grab a second consecutive SEC title. In all of his years at UF, the Floridian native was named All-American three times.

He graduated from the University of Florida in 1996 with a degree in Business Administration and a promising golfing career. With that momentum, Tesori decided to play the two-staged PGA Tour Q-School the same year. It was his first attempt and it became his greatest golf memory as he finished 37th on the final list, earning a PGA Tour card for the 1997 season. But then why did Tesori leave playing golf as a pro?

Why did Paul Tesori start caddying?

It was his first season on the PGA Tour, and Tesori wanted to repeat his successful run at the pro level just as he did in his college life. However, as he never liked practicing and rarely hit the range, Tesori faltered in the very first year. He played 12 events, from which he missed eight cuts, withdrew from three, and was disqualified from one.

A similar pattern followed even the next season but Tesori was determined. He entered the PGA Tour once again in 1999 on a medical extension. However, with debilitating injuries and a dropping form, it was clear that Tesori might not be apt for playing professional golf. In the meantime, he started a friendship with Vijay Singh. Though Tesori lost his PGA Tour card, he started working at White Oak Plantation’s Legacy Course in Yulee.

Since Vijay Singh had an idea about Tesori’s gameplay and skills as he had helped Singh to swing better, he reached out to him in 2000, before the PGA Championship. This started Tesori’s caddie career. The two worked together till 2003 and for the better part of 2006 as well. After parting ways in 2003, he decided to work as a bank teller in Florida but Jerry Kelly called him for another work opportunity.

He worked with Kelly for two long years while also looping for Singh. After splitting with the two pros, Tesori’s next destination, or player per se, was Sean O’Hair. The pair was together till October 2010, when they also parted ways and Tesori started to look for better talent on the PGA Tour.

In the midst of it, he received a call from Webb Simpson, who negotiated with the former player to caddie for him. Tesori was hesitant at first but their mutual love for Christianity and a lot of convincing from Simpson resulted in Tesori taking the pros bag in 2011. This partnership evolved to be successful for both, as in the same year, Simpson jumped to ninth in the world. And Tesori guided a player to a major victory for the first time as Simpson won the 2012 U.S. Open.

With Simpson, Tesori started building a relationship outside of the game too, but when Simpson decided to play less on the Tour, in 2023., after 12 and half years, they mutually decided to go their own ways. Tesori changed bags to Cameron Young and 11 months later parted ways, and started working with Tom Kim with whom he shared a similar faith.

As evident, Tesori has had a lively professional career and earned the veteran caddie title after giving it 24 years and winning 25 times on the PGA Tour. But what does he do in his time off of the golf course?

Paul Tesori’s personal life

Just like his professional life, his personal life had experienced much turbulence because of golf. Tesori described that the sport was the reason for his divorce but he had moved on from that. It took time, but in 2008, Tesori started dating his then-girlfriend, Michelle Robie. Eventually, the two got engaged in 2009 and started their foundation, Tesori Family Foundation.

Through this, Tesori helped special needs kids learn golf and gave them whatever assistance that was required. After getting married in 2011, three years later, the couple welcomed their first child [Tesori’s second child, after Alexis from first marriage], Isaiah Tesori who was born with Down syndrome. After his birth, Tesori and his wife decided to expand the foundation all over the USA and work better with kids with similar conditions as Isaiah and others.

The foundation has since been a great support for the community all around the United States and continues to schedule clinics for the kids. Tesori has made it his mission to help the children as much as he can. That’s how the 52-year-old has been living with a little bit of golfing, fishing, and helping the kids!