Yani Tseng makes her start at the Evian Masters Thursday with a new member of her team in tow.
Basil van Rooyen is Tseng’s new caddie.
Tseng, amid a sluggish spell of golf, let go of her long-time caddie, Jason Hamilton (pictured), after a disappointing finish at the U.S. Women’s Open. Tseng intentionally sought a new caddie from the PGA Tour, Champions Tour and European Tour ranks so as to avoid enticing away a fellow LPGA pro’s caddie. Van Rooyen is a veteran who once caddied for Mark McNulty, Graham DeLaet, Mark James and David Frost.
“Jason Hamilton, the caddie I have before, he’s a very good guy and great caddie, too,” Tseng said in her Evian Masters news conference Wednesday. “He has been helping me out a lot. We won a lot of tournaments together, but I had a little struggle these couple months, and I just feel like both of us, we need to do take a little break.
“I still think he can help me, but I think it’s more my problem, because every time I hit bad, I kind of blame him. I don’t like that, so I told him that we need a little break and we’ll see how it’s going in the future.
“Basil was on the PGA Tour and Champions Tour, and he has been working there for like 30 years. I’m very much looking forward to working with him.”
This will mark van Rooyen’s first LPGA event.