In the world of professional golf, the stage does not get much bigger than The Masters. An unlikely actor become one of the stars of the show at the 2015 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, held April 9-12.
This was none other than MOC-FV and Northwestern alumni Michael Greller. For over the last two years, Greller has been acting as PGA Golfer, Justin Spieth’s fulltime caddie.
This year, 21-year-old Spieth placed first at The Masters, making him the competition’s youngest winner since Tiger Woods accomplished the feat at age 21 in 1997.
Going from a student at NW to caddying for the world’s best golfer is a dramatic change, and it didn’t happen overnight. The journey from college grad to professional caddie was many years in the making.
As he was working full-time as a middle school math teacher, Greller began moonlighting as a caddie. While attending the U.S. Amateur Public Links in 2006 as a spectator, Greller offered to caddie for an amateur golfer named Matt Savage, who was carrying his own bags.
Eventually Greller was given an opportunity to caddie for Spieth in the U.S. Junior Amateur at Gold Mountain in 2011. Although Spieth was not yet established as a professional golfer, Greller decided to take a
gamble and caddie for Spieth full-time.
Less than three years later, it appears that Greller made the right choice.