Players Championship Standard Bearers committee chairman Madison Wentzel said one word describes 18-year-old Tallahassee Chiles senior Blake McCausland.
“Exceptional,” she said. “One of the most exceptional kids we’ve had.”
It’s why McCausland earned Standard Bearer of the Year for the 2026 Players Championship, as voted by Wentzel and the rest of the committee members. McCausland’s main perk: He got to choose which threesome he walked with in the first two rounds, and then carried the scoring standard for the final twosome in the third and fourth rounds, Ludvig Åberg and Xander Schauffele on March 14 and Åberg and Michael Thorbjornsen on March 15.
The standard bearers, usually high school students, carry hand-operated signs behind each group at The Players and work with the walking scorers to update each player’s board after each hole. It’s not an easy job: Walking the Stadium Course, which measures just under 7,300 yards, covers more than 4 miles.
When the wind blows, and it almost always does at the Stadium Course in March (it’s across the street from the ocean), the signs can be tough to hold aloft.
But Wentzel said McCausland goes “above and beyond,” showing up two days early to help committee members sort the standards, player names and numbers.
“He’s there to do anything he can for us,” she said.
McCaulsland’s family travels to Players every year
McCausland, a member of the Chiles golf team, doesn’t mind the work and is from a family of Players volunteers. His mother, Angela, is a vice-chairman of the walking scorekeepers committee and his sister, Jenna, is also a standard bearer.
The family travels to Florida’s First Coast every year, at their expense, to work at The Players. They’re part of a corps of more than 2,000 volunteers who help with the PGA Tour’s biggest event.
The more volunteers there are, the less the Tour and The Players have to contract out for pre-tournament construction and tear-down, parking and player services. The Tour historically has then plowed the money saved into numerous charitable causes.
“We love golf, we love volunteering, we love helping,” said McCausland, who volunteered picking up range balls for two years and has been a standard bearer for the last three. “Knowing that we have a role in the tournament and helping impact people, it’s a big thing for a family, a tradition coming over to this tournament.”
Blake McCausland had his pick at The Players
McCausland took a look at the early round tee times on March 9 and didn’t hesitate in picking the two threesomes he would walk with: World No. 1-ranked Scottie Scheffler, defending FedEx Cup champion Tommy Fleetwood and 2021 Players champion Justin Thomas in the first round; and defending Players champion and world No. 2 Rory McIlroy, two-time major champion Xander Schauffele and 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuayama.
That’s 14 major championships, five Players championships and six of the top-14 players on the world rankings.
McCausland also added to a hefty collection of autographed golf balls. It’s a tradition on the PGA Tour for players to autograph a ball for the standard bearers and the walking scorekeepers after each round and McCausland estimates he has 50 balls.
“I’m 8 for 8 this week,” he said of getting autographs from the players in each group he worked with in the first three rounds. “Almost all of them will autograph a ball for us. If a guy makes a quadruple bogey on the last hole, he might not be in the mood but I understand that. Some of the rookies haven’t realized the tradition yet.”
Watching the world’s best helps McCausland’s game
McCausland said he doesn’t ask for golf tips from the players but he said he picks up enough by watching them hit every shot, especially about their carriage, demeanor and response to good and bad shots.
It was almost surreal. You always hear about the people doing it and the experiences they have in getting there and you never expect to get it. You always try to be the best for your committee but when you get an award like that, it’s amazing.
You watch how they stay relatively calm. They never let their emotions out, which is rare. I try to resemble that, stay calm in the moment when everything doesn’t go your way. They get in the high-pressure moments and they stay calm.”
McCausland had a memorable moment this week
McCausland was hard-pressed to name a favorite player he’s walked with, but did have a favorite caddie, Ian Finnis, who works for Fleetwood.
During a 20-minute rain delay in the first round, Fleetwood’s group was on the third tee, close to the clubhouse. Since there was no lightning, officials told the groups to stay in place and Finnis urged McCausland and the walking scorer to come with him under his umbrella for a short walk to cover.
When McCausland told Finnis the walking scorers and standard bearers didn’t have clubhouse credentials, Finnis said, “I’ll just tell them you’re my family … come on.”
Finnis then gave the walking scorer a Pebble Beach rain jacket from Fleetwood’s bag and told her to keep it.
“He did what he said,” McCausland said. “He treated us like family.”
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Blake McCausland and his family have a Players Championship tradition
Reporting by Garry Smits, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
