Rio Takeda has not wasted any time making a big impression on the LPGA Tour.
The star, who had been competing on the LPGA of Japan Tour, earned her card in November 2024 after winning the Toto Japan Classic in her homeland.
Her rookie season on the circuit soon brought a second win, on that occasion at the Blue Bay LPGA in China, where her caddie was Dean Herden.
However, that proved to be the pair’s last event working together, with Herden linking up with Jin Young Ko and Takeda turning to Ken Herring.
He is vastly experienced and has enjoyed his fair share of success on the bag for some big stars, too, so it’s little wonder Takeda has continued to shine with him alongside her.
Herring’s caddying career goes back decades, including a spell alongside Peter Lonard in the early part of the century.
In more recent years, he has worked alongside players including Thomas Bjorn in several spells and Thorbjorn Olesen, while he was the long-time caddie of Scottish DP World Tour pro Marc Warren.
There was a particularly successful spell during that period, when he helped Warren win the 2014 Made In Denmark.
A week later, he temporarily stepped in for Jamie Donaldson while Warren was on holiday, and he worked his magic again, with the Welshman winning the D+D Real Czech Masters.
Two years later, he took up another temporary position, this time alongside Lee Westwood at the DP World Tour Championship when Westwood's regular caddie, Billy Foster, was sidelined with a knee injury.
On the way to guiding the Englishman to a T13 finish, Westwood said of Herring: “Billy normally thinks for me, which is probably a good thing.
“A different caddie doesn’t know my game. He’s only had one round on the bag in the pro-am on Tuesday and I wasn’t particularly sharp then. He’s sort of making it up as he goes along but I have full confidence in him.”
By 2022, Herring was working with Jenny Shin, while he also linked up with Bronte Law for a spell before answering the call from Takeda.
Since then, her performances have continued to impress, notably with a runner-up finish at the US Women’s Open.
She was proving her ability to compete in a Major again at the AIG Women’s Open, where she was T4 with a round to play as she threatened to take her career to the next level – and all with the help of her caddie.
