Derek Anderson caddied for PGA Tour pro Kevin Chappell at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he was up against Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry on the opening two days
(Image: Getty Images)
Former NFL quarterback Derek Anderson – now a caddy on the PGA Tour – had to sheepishly apologise to Rory McIlroy not once, but five times at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. It came after Anderson inadvertently distracted the golfing ace during his shot.
Anderson is best known for an impressive 14-year stint in the NFL with teams including the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers. But he was also celebrated as one of the league’s keenest golfers during his time. His affinity with the sport led to friendly connections with numerous golf greats, resulting in his first-ever caddie role this April.
At 41, Anderson found himself assisting Kevin Chappell alongside partner Tom Hoge in the pairs’ event, where they competed against Shane Lowry and a freshly-crowned 2025 Masters champion, McIlroy, for the first two rounds. But Anderson’s inexperience shone through embarrassingly when he caused a stir with the Northern Irishman.
Reminiscing about the gaffe on GOLF’s Subpar podcast, Anderson remarked humorously, “Oh yeah, that was great.
“I felt 5’1” tall. Kevin hit that shot on 17 on Friday. Shane missed the hosel by an inch. I kind of walked back and I’m kind of not really sure where to go, because the flag was over there and Shane’s chipping.
“I was like, ‘I just want to go put this bag down, get my guy’s putter. Let’s get this over with.’ So I go behind the green and Rory’s chipping from the front-right of the green, right back at me.
“Michael Collins says something to me and I look down [to the side], I don’t even know what he was saying and all of a sudden I hear Chappie (Chappell) yell from 40 yards away, ‘DA, stop moving!’
“I was like, ‘Oh s***.’ I grabbed the bag and went right behind the camera guy and I just stood there and I froze. I thought, ‘Oh my God, I don’t even know what to do, what am I doing, there’s all these people here.’ Kinda freaking out.
(Image: GOLF’s Subpar podcast)
“Meanwhile, Rory had stepped off the chip. Apparently, when I looked down I bothered him. And then he steps up and proceeds to lay sod over it, and I’m like ‘Oh, no.’ And then they made a bogey.
“As we were walking off, I tapped him with the putter like, ‘I’m so sorry dude.’ Going up 18, I’m just staying as far away from him as I could. I apologised to him like five times.”
Anderson, who is a scratch golfer himself, shared how Lowry jokingly shouted across the green: “It took you two days and you finally screwed it up!”.
Anderson began his NFL career with the Ravens in 2005 before moving to the Browns. His journey continued through Arizona and led him on a seven-season stint with the Panthers before he retired in Buffalo.
In 2017, ESPN reported that Anderson had aspirations to compete in the Masters by winning the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship. Meanwhile, McIlroy failed to defend his Zurich Classic title alongside Lowry, finishing the tournament T12 and six strokes behind the victorious duo of Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin.
