Klint Lowry/SUNCOAST NEWS
Mitchell High School junior Kenny Cavender caddies for
PGA pro Ted Purdy at the PODS Championship in Palm
Harbor.

High School junior caddies for PGA pro Ted Purdy

TRINITY, Fla. --- Ever since Kenny Cavender started golfing seven years ago, he's dreamed of being a pro golfer. As the top golfer on the Mitchell High School team and winner of the Florida Junior Tour's Greater Tampa Bay Tournament of Champions last May, that dream remains alive and well.

This past weekend, however, Kenny, 17, got an honest-to-goodness taste of the PGA Tour when he caddied for pro golfer Ted Purdy at the PODS Championship at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor.

"I still felt like I was in a dream," Kenny said as he and Purdy took it easy after a 2-under par 69 first round Thursday.

That was understandable, as the chain of events that had gotten Kenny this opportunity played out almost like something out of a movie.

Kenny plays golf nearly every day at the Fox Hollow Golf Course, where qualifying rounds were held for the final spots in the PODS tournament. He got a call on Saturday night from a friend who works there who tipped him off that Purdy needed a caddie. The job paid $100, although that meant nothing to Kenny.

"I knew he had a real good chance of qualifying," Kenny said. Purdy, winner of the 2005 Byron Nelson Championship, had recently lost his PGA Tour exemption from having to qualify prior to the 2008 season and needed to play his way into the tournament.

He selected Kenny to caddy for him, and finished tied with Chad Collins. There would have been a playoff, but Collins had left the course to go have dinner, and couldn't get back before sunset, so the spot in the tournament was awarded to Purdy.

When he got word, Purdy decided to invite Kenny to be his caddie at the tournament.

"He was such good luck, I figured why not," Purdy said, Kenny showed a good attitude and competitive spirit out on the course, Purdy said.

They got to take a practice round together at Innisbrook's famed Copperhead Golf Course, on which the tournament was held. Then they got in nine holes together during a Pro-Am event that was part of the PODS Championship schedule of events.

"I had to show him how to rake the traps," Purdy said. "Some of those guys on the tour are pretty particular."

Kenny was by far the youngest caddie out there, but he said all the other caddies, most of who are highly paid full-time professionals, accepted him. He learned that at the pro level, life is good even for the guys in the caddy shack.

"They pretty much got the best food you can eat," he said.

Caddies and players have a lot of fun out there, Kenny found, which was pretty much what he expected and hoped for.

While doing his best to help Purdy, Kenny has gained a few new insights watching a pro at work, particularly the mental aspect.

"As hard as it is, just stay positive," Kenny said. It's something he knew and had been working on already, but watching Purdy and the other golfers do it on this level has been educational, as has seeing them at times other than when they are actually playing.

As much fun as they have, these guys work hard at being good at what they do, Kenny said. He even noticed Purdy's discipline when it comes to nutrition.

"He's eating broccoli when I'm eating French fries," Kenny said. He figures he'll reconsider what's on his own training table, so he can get back to the PGA someday for the way he swings a club, rather than how he carries them.

For the record, after his strong first round, Purdy shot a 76 and a 79 in the next two rounds and missed the final cut, finishing almost exactly in the middle of the field for the tournament.