Golf looks like an individual game, but in reality, it really is not. When you go just a layer deep, there is a full team, including an instructor looking over every move of a golfer, a manager, a physiotherapist, and most importantly, a caddie. Only a caddie gets to experience the events and all the ups and downs of the game with the golfer. The stronger the relationship, the better the duo plays on the course, like Tiger Woods and Mike ‘Fluff’ Cowan, Rory McIlroy and JP Fitzgerald, Nelly Korda and Jason McDede, and more.

Just like that, there is Kevin Streelman and Mike Bestor. The duo started working together from the 2019 American Express and has since been together. Bestor has been a caddie for the past 25 years on the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, Korn Ferry Tour, Asian Tour, and also the European Tour, yes the bagman carries incredible experience with him. A few of the golfers he had caddied in the last two decades are Geoff Ogilvy, Bud Cauley, Charley Wi, Steve Elkington, Dean Wilson, Y.E. Yang, Mike Weir, Seung Yul Noh, Paula Creamer, and Jin Park.

However, all through these years, it has taken much more from Bestor to stay a successful caddie on the various tours. In an interview, the veteran bagman revealed how he bonded with golfers better and guided them to play exceptionally. Recounting his experience with one pro, Bestor expressed that he used to play well during practice but during rounds, he used to get frustrated after several holes. So what did Bestor do? The bagman distracted the pro and asked him a few questions like: “What’s your target; where’s the wind; what club should you use,” and in a few minutes, the golfer was concentrated again.

No doubt, Bestor has been a trusted caddie for many golfers because of his decision-making skills and ability to support the pros at the right time. But caddying was not always his forte. So how did he make that jump?

How did Kevin Streelman’s caddie, Mike Bestor, start caddying?

Mike Bestor comes from a small city in Orange County, California, called the Laguna Niguel. And from a young age, the veteran caddie was intrigued by golf. Growing up in Cali, Bestor was inspired by Fuzzy Zoeller and wanted to be a golfer too. After graduation from Dana Hills High School in 1989, the looper was admitted to UC Santa Barbara. There, he played collegiate and even won a state tournament under his parent’s presence, which he regarded as the greatest golf memory he ever made.

However, after graduating college, Bestor did not turn pro. But he heard that a golfer required a caddie who had a good enough understanding of golf. Bestor chimed in and there he started his caddie journey. Noting it as the best job in the world, the veteran looper continued caddying because “I guess I have a gambling mentality”, he said. Bestor was alluded to by the uncertain nature of golf and how the week turned out to be different.

Nonetheless, that mentality has kept him going in the sport for more than two decades now. But other than golf, he also loves golf architecture, reading, and as a true sports nerd loves NFL, MLB, and soccer. When is not on the golf course, Bestor is probably watching a golf architecture documentary or another sport. Now, his dream is to win a major as he has won four professional wins with other golfers. Will his dream come true with Kevin Streelman? It remains to be seen.