Staff WriterEvery week, the Sunshine Tour brings golf fans stories of men chasing greatness under the African sun. But this year, the Tour has turned its gaze to the unsung heroes who make those victories possible — the caddies.
For the first time, the Sunshine Tour has introduced a tradition that celebrates the people behind the players. At every prizegiving, the winning golfer’s caddie is called forward and presented with a medallion — a simple, gleaming token that carries the weight of long days, early starts, and silent teamwork.
It’s a gesture that acknowledges those who rarely make the headlines but without whom professional golf would lose much of its rhythm. These caddies don’t just shoulder clubs; they shoulder the grind. They rise before dawn, travel as much as their pros, and share in both the heartbreak and the glory of competition.
“It’s such a beautiful thing that the Sunshine Tour is doing. It’s so inspiring. With the medallion handover people can see what we do as caddies,” says Albert Mciteka, who’s already picked up two medallions this year — one alongside Pieter Moolman at the Limpopo Championship, and another with Haydn Porteous at the Vodacom Origins of Golf at Gowrie Farm Lodge & Golf Course.
“It feels amazing to have achieved that, especially with two different players.”
For Mciteka, those medallions are more than souvenirs. They’re milestones in a career that began on the dusty fairways of Stellenbosch.
“I grew up in Stellenbosch and I’ve been caddying since I was in primary school at Koelenhof Primary. I used to skip school just so that I could caddie and make some extra cash. And I just kept on going from there. I’ve been caddying professionally for over 15 years now, on the Sunshine Tour and a bit on the DP World Tour,” he recalls.
“Golf means so much to me. I grew up with golf. There were one or two years where I worked because things were a bit tough, but I missed golf too much. I met Pieter Moolman five years ago and we just clicked, and we’re still together now.”
His passion runs deep, and like most caddies, Mciteka has mentors who shaped him.
“The late Douglas Mthembu was a mentor for me. He won the Joburg Open with Haydn Porteous. I’d often speak to him and he’d tell me how to do my job to the best of my ability.”
That guidance — passed down quietly between loops — defines the fraternity of caddies as much as the game itself.
“I’ve been fortunate to have won twice this year, but I don’t think I have any secret. I just read the greens, do my yardage book, and check potential flags for the next rounds. I just do my normal thing,” Mciteka says with modesty.
Yet, it’s that “normal thing” — the unseen calculations, the steadying words, the trust built under pressure — that helps unlock the extraordinary.
This new Sunshine Tour initiative doesn’t just polish the spotlight; it widens it. Because in golf, victory is rarely a solo act — and every medallion handed to a caddie is proof that behind every great player walks someone quietly great, too.
