Early shot by Luke Hopkins holds up to win The Players Caddie Competition at the Island Green

Luke Hopkins posted a number early on Wednesday and it held up for the rest of the day at the 17th hole of the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.

Hopkins, the caddie for PGA Tour player Ben Martin, hit a shot into the Island Green around noon that came to rest 4 feet, 7 inches from the hole to win the 2023 Players Caddie Competition.

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During Wednesday practice-round days at The Players, caddies are allowed one swing into the Island Green. It was an informal practice when The Players first moved to the Stadium Course in 1982 and has been largely credited to Lee Trevino urging his rotund caddie Herman Mitchell to take a shot.

The PGA Tour formalized the contest in 2000 when Steve Flesch's caddie, Ben Englebrecht, hit a shot to 5-7.5 inches.

There has never been a hole-in-one. Chris Rice, who worked for Harold Varner III, has the all-time record for the closest to the pin at 14 inches in 2021, beating by 2 inches the shot hit by Chris Jones (Mark Wilson) in 2005.

Fabian Azcarate, who works for Nico Echavarria was second to Hopkins with a shot to 6-10. Lance Bennett (Sungjae Im) was third with a shot to 8-11.

There were also some horrendous shots that likely convince the caddies to not quit their day job. One tee shot was hooked halfway up the spectator bank on the left.

When registering for the tournament, each player donates to the Caddie Competition. The winning caddie receives the pot, and the PGA Tour matches the total to donate to the Bruce Edwards Foundation.

Edwards was a Ponte Vedra Beach resident and the long-time caddie for Tom Watson who died of ALS in 2004.

The winning caddie also gets a VIP parking spot for each competition day, an engraved money clip, and a custom drawing by sketch artist Casey Jones, who draws for Disney and Marvel Comics.

A plaque has been placed inside the TPC Sawgrass Clubhouse, which will include each winning caddie’s name.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Luke Hopkins, the caddie for Ben Martin, wins Players caddie competition