Golf legend Phil Mickelson has confirmed in an emotional tweet that his brother Tim is now stepping down from his bag having decided to retire from his duties.

Mickelson, 53, revealed the news about his younger brother on X / Twitter just two weeks before the start of The Masters.

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It means Mickelson, a three-time winner of The Masters, is now on the hunt for a new caddie ahead of next week’s LIV Golf event outside Miami and the season’s first major at Augusta National in two weeks’ time.

Tim’s call to step down from Mickelson’s bag comes more than seven years after Mickelson’s split from his long-time caddie Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay in June 2017.

Phil Mickelson confirms his brother and caddie Tim Mickelson has retired

According to 45-time PGA Tour winner Mickelson, Tim’s decision to retire will allow him to spend more time with his family.

Mickelson tweeted:

“I’ve had some great accomplishments in my career and getting to share them with my brother Tim has been beyond special,” Mickelson wrote. “I’m very lucky to have had him on the bag for me the past eight years and as my brother for life.

“So much has changed since he was single and we started working together. He’s found his life partner, Maranda, they’ve had their second son, and hopefully their family will continue to grow.

“While Tim is retiring from caddying, I’ll always cherish the many great moments we’ve shared on the course, and I look forward to many more special moments off the course, too.”

Prior to working for the six-time major champion, Tim worked as Jon Rahm’s agent, as well as a golf coach at Arizona State.

Tim, who is seven years younger than Phil, was on Mickelson’s bag for three victories, none bigger than the 2021 US PGA at Kiawah Island where Lefty became the oldest major champion in history aged 50 years and 11 months.

He was also on the bag for wins at the 2018 WGC-Mexico Championship and 2019 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Lefty then famously bolted to LIV Golf in the summer of 2022 as he reportedly agreed to a fee of $200m.

Mickelson has yet to confirm his new caddie for next week’s LIV Golf event at Trump Doral.

He’ll then turn his attentions to The Masters, which takes place from 11-14 April.

Despite falling to 156th in the Official World Golf Rankings right now, Mickelson is able to compete at The Masters for as long as he wishes as a result of being a past champion of the tournament.

Mickelson has won The Masters three times: 2004, 2006 and 2010.