Shay Knight is a former North Sydney Bears ballboy who last week earned more than NRL superstars Latrell Mitchell, Reece Walsh and Cameron Munster combined in a year. So, how did a former landscaper become one of golf’s most influential figures?

“I knew in my heart I didn’t have it,” he says. “I didn’t want to waste hard-earned money trying to find it. Matty gave me a call and asked if I wanted to come over [to the United States]. I worked for him for five-and-a-half years.”

Working for a professional golfer can involve being many things: mentor, adviser, friend, travel companion, psychologist, cleaner, the list goes on. But when he started out, Knight asked legendary caddie Mike “Fluff” Cowan, who was once on Tiger…