When Lydia Ko accepted her 2014 Rookie of the Year award, she joked about thanking all the men who’d carried her bag. “Scott, Mark, Steve, Steve, Domingo, Fluff, Greg, Jason,” she rattled off, drawing laughs from the crowd. The teenage Ko had already cycled through eight different caddies in her young career.
Fast forward to today, and the trend remains essentially unchanged. Stacy Lewis and Travis Wilson logged 17 years together before Lewis’s retirement in 2025. Brooke Henderson and her sister Brittany have been together since 2015, winning 13 of Brooke’s 14 LPGA titles. Nelly Korda and Jason McDede started their partnership in 2018 and have captured all 15 of Korda’s victories together.
But one duo has quietly defied this revolving door for over a decade.
Who is Paul Fusco? Sei Young Kim’s trusted caddie
Paul Fusco has been Sei Young Kim’s caddie since 2014, making them one of the longest-standing partnerships on the LPGA Tour. The 57-year-old Missouri native has spent over 35 years caddying on both the PGA and LPGA Tours. His resume includes four PGA Tour victories alongside Vijay Singh, as well as work with notable players such as Paul Casey, Steve Flesch, and K.J. Choi.
Fusco grew up in Oakville, Missouri, the youngest of seven children in a large Irish-Catholic family. His journey began at the age of 12 when he started looping at Sunset Country Club, near St. Louis. “Within a week, I knew I wanted to be a tour caddie,” Fusco recalled.
After graduating from the University of Missouri, Fusco chased his dream with just $200 in his pocket. His mother, Dorothy, won $500 playing bingo and gave it to her son. “That was huge,” Paul said. “Mom took care of me.”
In 1990, Fusco landed the bag of a tall, slender man from Fiji named Vijay Singh. Over five years together, they captured four PGA Tour victories, including Singh’s first win at the 1993 Buick Classic.
Fast forward to 2014. Kim was watching Fusco’s work from afar and was impressed by his preparation. “I actually saw Paul and saw how he prepared for each tournament and told myself that I wanna have him on my bag,” Kim explained.
Fusco took the job based on intuition. “I thought, I’m going to follow my heart and do this, she’s the one,” he said.
Their partnership started with immediate fireworks. In just her second LPGA start in 2015, Kim won the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic in a playoff. She added a third victory that rookie season, earning the 2015 Rookie of the Year award.
Fusco has been on the bag for all 12 of Kim’s LPGA victories. Their success reached historic heights in November 2019 at the CME Group Tour Championship. Kim drained a 25-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole without even consulting Fusco or checking the leaderboard. The putt secured her $1.5 million—the largest single prize in women’s golf history at that time.
Fusco’s 10% winner’s share netted him $150,000, the biggest single paycheck ever for an LPGA Tour caddie. Following his divorce, Fusco was raising three children and struggling financially. He used part of his historic earnings to purchase a house for his family, according to reports about the caddie’s personal circumstances.
But they weren’t done. In October 2020, Kim won her first major championship at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. She shot a final-round 63 to win by five strokes. Fusco earned another estimated $150,000 payday from that victory.
Their partnership hasn’t been without challenges. At the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open, Fusco was caught taking cell phone photos of internal USGA course setup documents. The USGA immediately removed him from the tournament. Kim had to find a replacement on short notice.
The LPGA determined no further sanctions were necessary. Fusco returned to Kim’s bag the following week. They’ve never looked back.
Paul Fusco’s personal life beyond the ropes
Life as a professional caddie demands constant travel and long weeks on the road. Fusco has navigated these challenges for over three decades while raising three children. He currently resides in Jacksonville, Florida, but frequently returns to his hometown in Missouri to visit family.
The 2016 Rio Olympics provided one of Fusco’s most memorable experiences. He accompanied Kim to represent South Korea and stayed in the Athletes’ Village. “I got to stay in the Athletes’ Village with all the Olympians and that was a really special experience,” Fusco said. “To see her represent her country and how much it means to all the Koreans was really something.”
Interestingly, Fusco rarely plays golf himself despite his deep knowledge of the game. His passion lies purely in caddying and helping others succeed. “I just like helping people,” he’s said repeatedly. “I get a lot of reward from helping people and making a difference.”
Their 10-year partnership places them among the LPGA’s most enduring duos. Stacy Lewis and Travis Wilson logged 17 years together before Lewis’s retirement in 2025. Brooke Henderson and her sister Brittany have been together since 2015, winning 13 of Brooke’s 14 LPGA titles. Nelly Korda and Jason McDede started their partnership in 2018 and have captured all 15 of Korda’s victories together.
These long-term relationships stand in stark contrast to the modern trend of frequent caddie changes. The Henderson sisters, the Pano father-daughter duo, and partnerships like Fusco and Kim demonstrate that enduring trust and consistency remain crucial in professional golf.
At the 2025 BMW Ladies Championship near Kim’s hometown in South Korea, the duo showed they’re still going strong. Kim shot a tournament-record-tying 10-under 62 in the opening round. She hit 12 of 14 fairways, 17 of 18 greens, and needed only 26 putts.
Kim hasn’t won since November 2020, representing a nearly five-year drought. But her 2025 season has produced seven top-10 finishes—her most since 2019. She ranks 19th in the Race to CME Globe standings with over $1 million in earnings.
As Kim pursues her second major championship, Fusco remains her constant companion. Their partnership represents something increasingly rare in modern professional golf—the enduring value of trust, preparation, and shared success built over more than a decade together.
Fuente: https://www.essentiallysports.com/who-is-sei-young-kims-caddie-career-personal-life-partnership-explored/
