Hideki Matsuyama’s Caddie: How Much Money Do They Make for Salary?

As Hideki Matsuyama took Augusta by storm, his caddie Shota Hayafuji has been on the bag to witness his epic Masters performance.

The video of Shota’s bow as he left the green went viral and although his boss will get all the congratulations, expect Shota to become a star in is own right across Japan.

His Earnings

Like all caddies, Hayafuji’s salary depends on Matsuyama’s performance in each tournament, and recently his boss’s form has dipped.

However, every caddie has their own pay structure that is agreed upon with the golfer they work with and typically this data is not made public. We do have a basic idea of what the normal sliding scale is for a PGA Tour caddie.

Heading into the Masters, Matsuyama earned $1.6 million so far during the 2021 season, per PGA Tour. Caddies typically earn between five to ten percent of the golfer’s winnings depending on where they finish on the leaderboard. This would put Hayafuji’s cut between $80,000 to $160,000 prior to Augusta. This number is likely to rise by a hefty margin given Matsuyama’s play at the Masters.

The caddie’s official salary is negotiated with the golfer, but 10% of the winning purse is common practice. A caddie earns a small base salary, but the majority of their money is determined by how the golfer performs at each tournament. Caddies are responsible for their own travel and lodging expenses for the competition.

Caddies get a regular weekly paycheck because caddies must pay for all their own expenses, airfare, hotel, rental car, food, that is all on the caddie. So, they get a weekly paycheck from the player, and then you get a percentage of what the player wins if they make the cut. And it is normally, the base is 10% for a win, 7% for a top-ten and 5% for everything else.

But that number is negotiated between every player and caddie. There’s no such thing as a contract between player and caddie.”

For Winning the Masters, Hayafuji Is Projected to Earn $207,000.

It is estimated that the winning caddie at the 2021 Masters will earn between $170,000 to $180,000. He also added that some players negotiate a higher weekly rate in exchange for a lesser percentage of the winnings.

The 2021 Masters purse is $11.5 million, and the winning golfer earns $2.07 million. This puts the caddie’s share at $207,000 assuming they have the standard 10% rate for victories.