PEBBLE BEACH — Jim “Bones” Mackay isn’t bored, isn’t itching to get back into the full-time caddie ranks and doesn’t need the extra cash. The famous looper, who now walks the fairways as an on-course reporter for NBC Sports, returned to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am because he wanted to help a friend.

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Mackay carried the bag for 36 holes this week for amateur Jimmy Dunne, vice chairman and senior managing principal of Piper Sandler and one of golf’s movers and shakers who served on the PGA Tour Policy Board for two years. Recruiting Mackay was a brilliant move by Dunne. Mackay was on the bag for Phil Mickelson for four of his five victories here and assisted Mickelson and Justin Thomas in a combined six major wins.

But it turns out it wasn’t Dunne’s idea.

“I wouldn’t have the nerve to ask him,” Dunne, 67, said with a laugh.

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Rory McIlroy celebrates with Jimmy Dunne after making a hole-in-one in Thursday’s first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Trinity Machan/Icon Sportswire

“Actually, I asked for the job,” Mackay said Friday after they finished up at Pebble Beach Golf Links in a pairing that included world No. 3 Rory McIlroy. “I asked, and he said OK. I called him up and said, ‘Hey, have you got anybody?’ And it worked out perfectly.”

A native of Long Island, N.Y., Dunne is a member of some of America’s most prestigious clubs—Pine Valley, National Golf Links of America and Seminole. He also belongs to Augusta National Golf Club, and that is where he and Mackay became friends.

“Jimmy is the member at Augusta National during Masters week who takes care of the caddies,” said Mackay, who was on the bag for Mickelson’s three Masters titles in 2004, ’06 and ’10. “He runs the caddie house there, and the stories of Jimmy’s generosity to the caddies are legendary, and myself included over the years. So I got to know him there, played some golf with him over the years. He’s one of my favorite people anywhere in the world.”

“Tell him all about my round today,” Dunne interjected jokingly when he noticed Mackay talking to this reporter.

“I appreciated that he wanted to do it,” Dunne added. “I can tell you that I was a lot better with him than I would have been without him, I promise you that. And I learned a few things.”

Dunne originally partnered in the tournament with PGA Tour player Ludvig Aberg, but the talented Swede withdrew before the second round because of illness, and Cypress Point head golf professional Casey Reamer stepped in. Dunne finished T-75 in the pro-am competition.

The group drew a large gallery both days with McIlroy present. That made the assignment all the more gratifying as Mackay received his own cheers from spectators. “Yeah, people were nice—super nice,” he said. “And obviously it was fun to watch Rory do his thing. Sorry Ludvig got sick, but I had no idea when I talked to Jimmy about me working for him that we were going to end up in a pairing like this. I thought we’d be doing something a lot more low-key, so it was just kind of funny. We ended up out there with a really nice gallery.”

Mackay, 59, said that his work this week is no indication he misses the caddie life. This was a one-off assignment.

“I have a great full-time job with NBC,” he said. “I love what I’m doing now. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

“But this is Pebble Beach. It’s the perfect place,” Mackay continued. “Someone asked me how many times I’ve been around this course, and it’s been a-hundred-something. So I know the holes; they haven’t changed. It’s been a fun place for me. This week was nothing more than me wanting to spend a few days with Jimmy. And we had a fantastic time.”

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com