Davis Thompson’s New Partnership in Pursuit of PGA Victory
Davis Thompson, a University of Georgia graduate, earned his PGA Tour card at the start of the 2022/23 season. Despite his relatively recent entry, he has already made a name for himself with three runner-up finishes and five top-10 placements in his first 50 starts. However, still seeking his first tour victory, Thompson decided to make a significant change at the end of his debut season.
Thompson, 25, had been working with his caddie, Dean Emerson, until the Wyndham Championship in August 2023. Their most notable achievement together was at the American Express earlier that season, where Thompson narrowly missed out on a playoff after his long-range putt on the penultimate hole hit the flagstick but failed to drop, leaving him just one stroke behind Jon Rahm.
Following a challenging end to the season, which saw Thompson secure only two top-30 finishes, he decided to make a caddie change. During a near six-week break in August and September, he brought Joe Etter on board.
Joe Etter has been a professional caddie since 2011, starting his career through Q-School and progressing to the Nationwide Tour (now the Korn Ferry Tour) before reaching the PGA Tour. He has worked with notable players like Chris Kirk, Harris English, and Patton Kizzire. Etter’s caddying highlights include wins with Kizzire at the 2017 OHL Classic at Mayakoba (now the World Wide Technology Championship) and the 2018 Sony Open in Hawaii. After parting ways with Kizzire, Etter briefly worked with Kyle Stanley before joining Thompson.
In an interview with the Caddie Network, Etter, a Green Bay, Wisconsin native and avid Packers fan, recalled his favorite golf memory: watching Tiger Woods win the Masters in 1997. As a caddie, his standout moment was holding the clubhouse lead at the 2014 Valspar Championship while working with Scott Langley, who eventually finished third.
Etter, who attended the University of Wisconsin-Platteville from 1995 to 1999, did not play college golf. He names Tiger Woods as his favorite golfer, and his dream fourball includes Woods, his father, and former Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, now with the Jets.
With this new partnership, Thompson aims to convert his promising performances into his first PGA Tour victory.