With the sharp exchanges between this LPGA player and her caddie, it's always 'Sho' time

THE WOODLANDS, Texas — If you see Sarah Schmelzel and her caddie smiling and laughing, after a birdie or bogey, it’s by design. Between singing “Blank Space” by Taylor Swift or needling one another, caddie Taylor “Shota” Takada likes to keep things loose, and Schmelzel is up for that, too.

They started working together at The Annika in November last year. Takada was on Alison Lee’s bag, and due to her maternity leave he didn’t have work. He didn’t seek out Schmelzel, but she and Lee have the same coach, Chris Mayson. The instructor introduced them and thought they’d be a good fit. It’s been a successful pairing.

Schmelzel shot a four-under-par 68 Friday and was tied for second, one shot off the pace of clubhouse leader Yan Liu, when she finished her round at the weather-delayed Chevron Championship at The Club at Carlton Woods. The 30-year-old Schmelzel is still looking for her first LPGA Tour win. She’s made the cut in all seven tournaments this season and was T-5 at the Blue Bay LPGA.

“I’m just very fortunate she’s able to have a fun time on the golf course,” Takada said on Friday. “She wears her emotions on her sleeve, which I love. That also means when things aren’t going exactly the way we want them to, she’ll show it. I love that. She’s honest and stays true to who she is. A lot of grit. A lot of emotions on both sides. Just her brand of golf, and I’m in love with it. I enjoy working for her a lot. It’s very natural.”

Takada and Schmelzel were mic’d up by the LPGA during a practice round this week. There might not be a lot of players who would want to showcase their banter on a major week. These two were game. It was such a fun video, with Takada cracking jokes, that he gained about 600 new followers on Instagram.

With the camera focused on them, there were exchanges like this:

Schmelzel with a laugh: “Do you want to confess your sins?”

Takada: “Which ones?”

Schmelzel: “The one today, this morning.”

Takada: “Oh yeah. Forgot my yardage book today, so I’m rocking a blank one.”

“Sho is awesome, as you can see. But he's got this way of keeping me positive, but not in a way that's kind of over the top,” Schmelzel said. “I would say he lets me get it out of my system. I tend to run a little hot. He lets me get it out of my system, and then he almost backs me up in a way. ‘Yeah, you're right, that was so unlucky. Let's go get a birdie.’ He's so good at shifting my perspective out there.

“Obviously, we laugh the whole time. We talk about so much nonsense out there. But he's so good at locking into the moment. I think that's been so huge for me this year. When we're in a shot and trying to hit a shot, we're really locked in. Away from that, we're really just enjoying where we are. He's grateful to be out here and I am grateful to be out here. It's just been amazing to work with him this year.”

Asked if he was putting on more of a show when wearing a microphone, Takada said: “To be honest with you, it’s pretty much how it is, especially on a practice round day. We like to keep it more fun. On the golf course, you’ll hear me singing and her humming along. It’s a pretty accurate picture.”

You might remember Takada from taking his shirt off, along with Megan Khang’s caddie, after Lee holed out an approach shot at the Solheim Cup. He kept his end of a bet. And he’s never one to miss an opportunity to induce a laugh.

The two are in serious contention with 36 holes left. Schmelzel has one top-10 in a major, finishing tied for ninth in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship last year. Her game continues to improve.

Takada, who played college soccer at UNLV, thrives in a team atmosphere. And he loves that aspect of golf. Sure, golf is an individual sport, but each golfer has a team and the caddie plays such a pivotal role. He believes Schmelzel could be in the hunt on the back nine Sunday with this plan.

“If she just sticks to her brand of golf and can unapologetically be her and play her style of golf, whether that’s angry, pissed Sarah, or we’re singing along to Taylor Swift coming down the 18th fairway,” Takada said. “Hopefully we’ll be down the 18th fairway with a chance. If she sticks to what she knows and stays in the moment, she’ll be just fine.”