Ian Finnis, long-time caddie for Tommy Fleetwood, undergoes open-heart surgery
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Tommy Fleetwood and caddy Ian Finnis last competed together at THE PLAYERS Championship 2024. (Francois Nel/Getty Images)
Tommy Fleetwood’s longtime caddie, Ian Finnis, is one of the most recognizable loopers on TOUR because of both his height and the length of his partnership with Fleetwood. The 6-foot-7 caddie has stood alongside the 5-foot-8 Fleetwood since 2016, a span that includes three Ryder Cup appearances and seven top-five finishes in majors.
That’s why it was immediately obvious when Finnis was not at Fleetwood’s side at the Valero Texas Open and the Masters Tournament. Fleetwood said at the time that Finnis had been dealing with a prolonged infection. On Tuesday, Finnis revealed on his Instagram story that he had undergone open-heart surgery.
“Open heart surgery done!!” Finnis wrote in a post to his Instagram story along with a photo of him laying in a hospital bed with a large scar down his chest. “Massive thanks to all at the NHS staff. Unreal service and people! The road to recovery has started. Thanks for all the love.”
Fleetwood told PGATOUR.COM that Finnis had been feeling ill since before Christmas while dealing with “some sort of infection.”
The two competed in THE PLAYERS Championship together, but Fleetwood said they decided after their tie for 35th that Finnis would skip the Valero to rest up for the Masters Tournament.
“He’s definitely moving in the right direction,” Fleetwood said in San Antonio, where he had Adrian Rietveld, a senior manager at TaylorMade, on the bag. Fleetwood used a local caddie, Gray Moore, en route to a third-place finish.