Singh's caddie a vanishing breed

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. – There’s something eye-catching about Jeev Milkha Singh’s caddie, and it’s not the brand-new, rainbow-colored Nike running shoes.

Janet Squire, 38, is one of only two female caddies at the 90th PGA Championship at Oakland Hills, and is believed to be just one of two fulltime female loopers on all the major professional tours. Fanny Suneson, who gained fame as Nick Faldo’s caddie, and now works for Henrik Stenson, is the other.

“There were a few around, about six or seven of us 10 or 12 years ago,” Squire said as Singh signed for a 74 Friday to go into the weekend at 2 over par, three off the lead of J.B. Holmes. “Jarmo’s girlfriend used to caddie, Patrick Sjoland’s girlfriend, Stephen Ames’s wife caddied.”

Neither a wife nor a girlfriend (although she “might” have a boyfriend somewhere, she says), Squire, a 15-year caddie on the European Tour, got the call from Singh in April.

“She’s been on the tour for years, and I’ve seen her around,” Singh said. “She wanted to come to the U.S. Masters, she’d never been. I said, ‘Jan, let’s go.’ I finished 25th, so it was good. We’ve had two wins in five weeks. I think Janet’s been great, she keeps me calm out there, she’s very positive. It’s been a good relationship so far.”

A resident of Sunningdale, England, Squire began learning the trade at 13 “with the boys” at her town’s famous club. “They’ve shown me the way,” she said, and so have some world-class golfers. Before Singh, Squire spent eight years working for Jamie Spence, two for Matthias Gronberg and two for Mark Roe.

All of which makes her not so different from every other caddie in the professional game. Singh has had female house caddies while playing in Asia, but Squire is his first fulltime professional female caddie. He says it’s no big deal, except for one thing.

“Sometimes when you get angry, and there’s a woman on the bag, you want to watch your language then,” he said, laughing.

(Photo: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)