By Mathieu Wood
After a career spanning almost 40 years, working with some of the game’s most recognisable names, English caddie Mick Doran is this week bidding a fond farewell.
Few others have enjoyed such longevity carrying the clubs of the world's best, but the time has now come for him to decide to hang up his bib.
After 38 years, 35 wins, seven Ryder Cups and a host of players by his side, coupled with countless memories to cherish, the popular 56-year-old is departing the fairways to take a well-earned retirement.
Doran has worked with Constantino Rocca, Lee Westwood, Justin Rose, David Howell, Francesco Molinari and Luke Donald among others, but it is alongside Eddie Pepperell that he is making his final appearance at the DP World Tour's Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship.
Having first picked up a bag before his teenage years, his job has seen him travel the world - and it's been some journey.
"Me and another caddie who was out here, Damian [Moore], we rode our bikes and the furthest place we rode them to was Wentworth," said Doran at Real Club de Golf El Prat in Barcelona, recalling how he first came to work on the DP World, formerly European, Tour.
"More or less the caddie master at the time lived three doors down from me, he told us to come up there, start from Wentworth. There were seven of us who went on Tour around 1987-88 and we just travelled together.
"Four of us are still caddying today. Unbelievable."
Having looped in the 90s, Doran has spent time around and seen first-hand the talents of the very best of the game, including European greats Seve Ballesteros, Sir Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle and Ian Woosnam - known as the Big Five.
"I mean, [they were] all different characters, proper characters, just played golf," he said.
"It's changed so much now with technology and that, but they were good, but there was another 20 people behind them who were really good too, so yeah, it was impressive. Especially seeing Seve in his heyday and all that."
Doran cites the experience of seeing a young Tiger Woods win his first Masters title in history-making fashion in 1997, when he was then caddying for Italian great Rocca, as chief among his career highlights.
"Watching that close up was unbelievable," he said. "And even Constantino Rocco when he holes a 100-footer at St Andrews to get in the play-off with John Daly [at The Open]. I mean, it's frightening, really."
The game has changed as time has passed, but Doran's love of life on Tour has seen him spend time with players who will forever remember the impact he has had on their careers.
But to ask him to single out one player with whom he has shared the fondest time is too hard.
"Well, they’re all different," he said. "Constantino Rocca, he was a fantastic, a feel player. He could shape shots and he was really good.
"Westwood's distance control was unbelievable in his heyday. I worked for him in the late 90s, for two-and-a-half years, and every time he got on a leaderboard, he won, more or less.
"I mean, David Howell, he got to top ten [in the world]. I worked for Justin Rose and won his first tournament with him in Joburg, and then we won the Order of Merit together. Well, he won the Order of Merit, and I sort of came on the bag."
In evidence of how highly regarded he is, Pepperell described it as an "honour" to have shared the best years of his career to date with Doran, having won both of his DP World Tour titles alongside his countryman in 2018.
Speaking to the DP World Tour, Pepperell said: "Mick was there for the best years that I have had. Halfway through 2017 and to the end of 2020. That was the end of it for me and Mick, really, until this year when he has done the odd few.
"I knew he wasn’t going to be doing a great deal this year, so it is always nice to have him when he is about.
"I gather that is that after this week for him. It has been an honour for me, I don’t know how many wins but it’s an awful lot.
"Like I say, I felt quite honoured to have him with me at different times in my career."
He added: "From a professional standpoint, Mick’s biggest strength is when you are in the hunt.
"He is a confident caddie, [and] even if it is not always correct at least he talks with a lot of confidence, and a player feeds off that."
The affection is mutual, with Doran offering some equally glowing praise for fan favourite Pepperell, who suffered a downturn in form since his wins at the Qatar Masters and British Masters but is now on his way back to rediscovering that title-winning golf.
"Eddie's brilliant, he's brilliant," he said. "He's very old school, just gets on with it, which is good.
"And his game is very close again, which is good. He's definitely on his way up, that's for sure. But Eddie's a class player.
"They might go away for a little while, but they always come back. If you get Eddie in contention, he'll win a tournament, that's for sure."
All the way through his time on Tour, Doran has had fun. Among fellow caddies and players, he is known as a prankster.
There are too many tales to recall, but there's one which brings a smile to his face as he recounts it.
"Probably the best one was at Walton Heath," he said. "I'm caddying for Eddie and I asked Ollie Briggs [a fellow Tour caddie] for some tickets on the putting green and he said he ain't got any tickets but the traffic going to the golf course was really bad on a Tuesday and Wednesday.
"I said 'what about your fast track pass', he said 'what's the fast track pass?', I said 'you get a sticker and they get a special lane for us to drive through' so he said 'I'm going to use that!'.
"So, when I got in from the Pro-Am, I turned on my phone and there was about 100 messages.
"Linda from the [tournament] office was saying, 'everyone is going in asking for a fast track pass' and they had to say there is no fast track pass this week! But yeah, I like winding up people."
So, why call it a day now? The answer he says is simple.
"I've just lost the drive," he replied. "I used to look forward to getting on the course and that's kind of gone now.
"All my friends are kind of finishing now. We're all coming to the end of our career and I don't know anyone out here too. I thought, why not? I've had a good time."
Above all else, it's the camaraderie he'll miss the most.
"Friends, caddies," he added. "It's a good, fantastic bunch of lads, that's for sure."
Happy retirement, Mick – the Tour will miss you.
