Michael Thomas "Fluff" Cowan (born 1948) is a golf caddy on the PGA Tour who got his nickname from his resemblance to golfer Steve Melnyk. He is a 37-year PGA Tour Caddie making him one of the most famous caddies in the PGA Tour. He has caddied for Ed Sabo (1976–78), Peter Jacobsen (1978–96), Tiger Woods (1996–99), and Jim Furyk (1999–present). In 2003, he caddied for Michelle Wie for one tournament while Furyk was injured. The 2012 Ryder Cup marked the eleventh time he caddied in the Ryder Cup, where he has worked for Peter Jacobsen, Fred Couples, Tiger Woods, and Jim Furyk.
Cowan was born in Winslow, Maine. Although with Peter Jacobsen for 18 years, Fluff's profile reached its peak as Tiger Woods' first caddy. Their first tournament together was at Woods' professional debut at the Greater Milwaukee Open in September 1996. Cowan was on the bag for Woods' first major victory at the 1997 Masters, their only major victory together.
Following the Nissan Open in February 1999, Cowan was released by Woods for undisclosed reasons. (Tiger replaced him with Steve Williams of New Zealand.) According to the Washington Post, Cowan was fired because he revealed publicly (in a 1999 Golf Magazine interview) the salary ($1,000 a week and bonuses up to 10 percent of Woods's winnings) he was paid by Tiger Woods, but he and Woods still remain friends. Cowan was picked up a few weeks later by Jim Furyk, who had just fired his caddy; their first tournament together was the 1999 Masters. He was on the bag during Furyk's win at the 2003 U.S. Open.
Cowan attended William Penn college in Oskaloosa, Iowa. He is a renowned Deadhead and is a member of Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland; he and his wife Jennifer Cowan live in the state of Maryland.
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—Calder Willingham, screenwriter, Buck Henry, screenwriter, and Mike Nichols. Ben Braddock (Dustin Hoffman)