Family golfing rivalry fuels Weaver's US Open bid

Tyler Weaver is part of the golf programme at Florida State University

"I can still beat him on a squash court but at table tennis he's pretty good and in terms of golf, it's amazing to have a younger brother who's really kicked on and is producing some great scores."

When Suffolk amateur Tyler Weaver steps out onto the first tee at Oakmont for next week's US Open, he will have one of the people who knows him best alongside him - elder sibling Max will be his caddie.

Tyler, 20, played 36 holes in a day in a qualifying event in Atlanta and finished joint third on 11 under par, with major winners Zach Johnson and Jason Dufner among those to fall by the wayside.

And he wasted no time in contacting Max, 22, via the family Whatsapp group to recruit him for bag duties in Pennsylvania.

"He said 'I hope you don't mind but I think you're going to have to carry my clubs around Oakmont', and I said 'I think that will work with my schedule, mate', Max told BBC Radio Suffolk.

"I've had quite a bit of caddying experience, I caddied for a couple of friends in some big tournaments - the only thing I've got to remember is that he hits the ball slightly further than me so the yardages change a little bit."

'It's going to be awesome to be there with him'

Max Weaver had to carry his own bag when playing in an R&A Student Series event in France last year

They will be brothers in arms at Oakmont - but there is also a serious rivalry as well.

The two Weavers have played together for the Suffolk county team and Max made a notable mark of his own by winning the 2023 Welsh Amateur Championship in Newport.

"We always said that if one of us gets a big opportunity, the other one would definitely help them. It's going to be awesome that I can be there with him and see what we can produce as a team," Max said.

"There's no-one I know who hates losing more than him. Everything he does is about winning and I do think he can take it to the top in this game - but on the flip side of that, I need to hunt him down."

The brothers - sons of former flat jockey Jason Weaver, who rode more than 1,000 winners over his career - first took up the game at a very young age, playing with plastic clubs in the garden.

Tyler is now part of the university golf scene in the United States and will be drawing on his experiences in his first major championship.

"We're flying out on Sunday, so we have Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to get settled in and really understand the golf course, that's when the main work will be done. Away from that, you can do a lot of research on the course and speak to a few people (about it)," Max added.

"We know all the US style courses are brutal, so it's going to be a challenge but he's used to playing tough courses in college and at top level amateur events, so that should definitely help him."

So how does Max think his brother will fare in the US Open, won by Dustin Johnson the last time it was played at Oakmont in 2016?

"He's improved so much in the last two years and he's on this level where I think he can go out and do anything he wants," he said.

"Beating those guys (in qualifying) will give him some confidence going into the week, and he had a win earlier this year, which has given him a PGA Tour start in November.

"It's nice that he's got two big opportunities coming up and we are all looking forward to it as a family."

He added: "I think the whole experience is really important and taking that in. We always like to play with no expectations but making the cut at his first major would be nice.

"But even more than that, going a little bit further and seeing how far he can move up that leaderboard on Sunday would be a great achievement."