Veteran caddie Bender fighting cancer

2008-04-09

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By Andrew BothPA SportsTicker Golf Writer

AUGUSTA, Georgia (Ticker) One of golf''s most highly respectedcaddies has been diagnosed with cancer.

Pete Bender, who until very recently was working for AaronBaddeley, has been forced to relinquish the bag while he fightsthe disease.

Bender, who is at home in California, said by telephone onWednesday that he was about to begin radiation and chemotherapytreatment, but would be watching on television this week asBaddeley tries to become the first Australian to win TheMasters.

Bender''s condition, which was recently diagnosed as cancer ofthe tonsils, has subsequently spread to the lymph nodes and hispredicament has saddened the golf community.

Bender made his name working for Greg Norman in the 1980s, andwas on the bag when the swashbuckling Australian won his firstBritish Open at Turnberry in 1986.

Later, Bender was hired by Ian Baker-Finch, adding anotherBritish Open to his resume when Baker-Finch won at RoyalBirkdale in 1991.

"He''s the best caddie I ever had, and that''s saying somethingwhen you consider that Steve Williams (currently Tiger Woods''caddie) also worked for me," Baker-Finch said.

"He was so diligent, an absolute golf nut and a very good greenreader. He knew when to stand in and when to stand back, and hewould say exactly the right thing at the right time to boostyour confidence."

In Bender''s absence, Baddeley has rehired one of his previouscaddies, New Zealander Anthony "Ant Man" Knight, but he wantsBender back on the bag as soon as possible.