Justin Thomas to have Patrick Cantlay’s former caddie Matt Minister on bag for 2024 Masters to replace Jim 'Bones' Mackay - Reports

Justin Thomas has found a new caddie ahead of the 2024 Masters. The American golfer recently parted ways with his caddie, Jim "Bones" Mackay, after working with him for a while. According to a recent report by Golf Channel's Todd Lewis, Thomas will have Matt Minister, former caddie of Patrick Cantlay, at his bag next week.

Justin Thomas is all set to tee off at The Masters this year and will skip this week's Valero Texas Open to prepare for the Major. The American golfer dropped a bombshell on Wednesday, April 3, announcing his split with Mackay. He shared an emotional post on his X (formerly Twitter), stating that it would be "extremely difficult" for him to part ways with Mackay but acknowledged that they will not be working together anymore.

It is important to note that Justin Thomas and Jim "Bones" Mackay started their partnership in 2021 and have been successful so far. Together, they won the PGA Championship 2022 and were also together at the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup.

However, last season, Thomas struggled with his game and even failed to finish in the top 70 of the FedEx Cup standings. However, he picked up the pace in 2024 and has been playing decently so far this season.

Announcing their split, Thomas wrote:

“I’m going to be forever thankful for him joining me on the bag in 2021. His wisdom on and off the course has been a blessing during a tough stretch of my career and he was there every step of the way.”

After parting ways, Thomas will reportedly move ahead with Patrick Cantlay's former caddie, Matt Minister, who has worked with some renowned golfers over the years.

Besides Cantlay, Minister has caddied for Chris Kirk, Nick Price, David Eger, Eric Compton, and Jeff Sluman.

Meanwhile, Patrick Cantlay currently has Tiger Woods' former caddie, Joe LaCava on his bag.

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What's next for Justin Thomas's caddie Jim "Bones" Mackay?

Jim "Bones" Mackay has had a successful career as a caddie on the PGA Tour so far. He had a long partnership with six-time Major winner Phil Mickelson, working together from 1992 to 2017.

Bones accompanied Mickelson in winning five of his Major titles. Unfortunately, the exemplary partnership terminated in 2017, and since then, Bones entered broadcasting. He worked for NBC/Golf Channel for several years before joining Thomas on his bag.

Moreover, earlier this year, he filled up Paul Azinger's position and served as an analyst in a few tournaments. He will be doing on-course reporting this week for the Augusta National Women's Amateur Tournament.

Moving forward, it will be interesting to see what the future holds for Bones. Will he be working as an analyst or joining someone else's bag?

Notably, Phil Mickelson also parted ways with his caddie Tim recently. After Bones, the LIV golfer hired his brother, Tim, on his bag, but last month, the latter announced his retirement. With that, Phil joined hands with his new caddie, Jon Yarbrough. Mickelson will also be playing at The Masters next week.