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Premier League referee Mike Dean has traded cards and whistle for a tour bag at this week’s Ricoh Women’s British Open.

The 49-year-old, who is regarded as one of the English game’s leading officials, is on the bag for two-time Ladies European Tour winner Stacey Peters at Kingsbarns after she came through a play-off at last night’s Final Qualifying at the Castle Course.

Dean, a keen golfer himself who plays off five, caddied for Peters for the first time at last week’s Ladies Scottish Open, with the Aussie oblivious to his full-time profession of officiating the world’s best players on a weekly basis.

“I had no idea he was a Premier League referee,” Peters, who is playing in her seventh consecutive Women’s British Open, told bunkered.co.uk. “I don’t follow football but a lot of the other caddies certainly know who he is.

“I got to know him through a friend of a friend and obviously he’s got the summer off and likes to caddie when he can so I asked if he could come and help me out.”

As Peters alluded to, this isn’t the first time Dean has tried his hand at caddying. In April 2015, he expressed an interest to the LET Caddies’ Association and received and email from professional Sophie Walker in June of that year.

He was on the bag for two events – the ISPS Handa Ladies European Masters and Helsingborg Open – where Walker finished T41 and T59 respectively.

Walker described Dean as the ‘best yardage pacer I’ve had’, with the referee reportedly keen to take up caddying more regularly when he hangs up the whistle.

Until then, check out some of his refereeing best bits.