Who is JJ Spaun’s caddie?
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He helped his boss win the US Open in 2025, but who is JJ Spaun’s caddie?
2025 saw JJ Spaun go from little-known PGA Tour player to one of the highest-ranked players in golf.
Prior to that, he’d spent almost a decade on the PGA Tour but only managed one win – the 2022 Valero Texas Open, and routinely found himself in the half of the FedEx Cup rankings. In fact, in the 2019-2020 season, he finished 185th, which in any other year would have caused him to lose his PGA Tour card. Luckily for Spaun, the Tour relaxed its policies due to COVID-19, and Spaun was allowed to keep his spot for the following season.
But 2025 was a breakthrough year.
He came close at the Sony Open after holding the 54-hole lead. He shot a final-round 66 at the Cognizant Classic to miss out by one shot.
He held the 54-hole lead at the Players Championship before eventually losing in a Monday playoff to Rory McIlroy.
But the 2025 US Open at Oakmont was where Spaun really announced himself on the big stage.
Needing a two-putt to win his first major, he drained a 64-foot birdie putt on the final green to take the title by two shots and as the only man to finish under par (-1). As unexpected winners go, this was right up there. His previous best finish in a major was 23rd place, and he had missed the cut in his only previous start at the US Open.
In August Spaun recorded his third runner-up finish of the year, at the FedEx St Jude Championship, losing on the third playoff hole to Justin Rose. The performance secured him automatic qualification for the 2025 Ryder Cup, setting him up for his debut at Bethpage Black.
But who is the man who was right beside Spaun throughout a year to remember?
Who is JJ Spaun’s caddie?
JJ Spaun’s caddie is Mark Carens. Massachusetts-born Carens took over Spaun’s bag in April 2021, after Spaun split with Zeke Salas, who now caddies for Kevin Yu.
A year after they started working together, Spaun picked up his first PGA Tour title, the 2022 Valero Texas Open, which secured him a first invitation to Augusta for The Masters.
Before working with Spaun, Carens had caddied for a number of PGA Tour pros, including Aaron Baddeley, Bubba Watson, and Si Woo Kim.
Before becoming a full-time caddie, Carens played on mini-tours and won the Boston Open in 1993 and 1995. He turned his attention to caddying in the early 2000s after an opportunity arose to caddie for a friend on what is now the Korn Ferry Tour.
“I have so much fun working for him, it’s a joke,” says Carens. “It’s like it’s not even work, I’m just watching someone compete at the highest level. He exudes confidence and he’s been getting better every day. We’ve been working to get to this position.”
It’s a partnership that’s clearly working well for both men.
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Mark Carens is JJ Spaun's caddie.
