A professional golfer angrily threw his club cover at his caddie and fired him on the spot after blaming him for a costly penalty.
Australian Rhein Gibson’s tantrum was caught on live TV at the 18th hole of a Web.com Tour event in the Bahamas on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old was one shot behind winner Adam Svensson when he hooked his second shot into some rocks beside the green.
Rhein Gibson about to launch his club cover at caddie Brandon Davis after a costly penalty
But his caddie Brandon Davis picked up the ball without checking with the officials and Gibson was hit with a controversial one-shot penalty.
Instead of having a chance of forcing a playoff with a birdie, Gibson dropped from second to third place – costing him $US12,000 ($A15,000) in prize money.
After missing the put that cost him second place, Gibson threw the headcover of his putter at Davis and stormed off the take the last shot.
‘It was just in the heat of the moment. I’m obviously playing well and I put myself in a great position, but when that happens it (could) cost me upwards of 15 or 18 thousands dollars,’ he said.
‘He walks in there gets my ball and costs me a penalty. At that point, I’m either trying to chip in or limit the damage and I made a good six (bogey).
‘Instead, I’m outright third and that’s a big difference when it boils down to it… Hopefully, at the end of the (season) it doesn’t cost me a (PGA) Tour card.’
After missing the put that cost him second place, Gibson threw the headcover of his putter at Davis
He then stormed off the take the last shot as Davis picked up the cover that fell at his feet
Gibson later apologised for his actions but continued to blame his caddie, who he said he was only using for the first two weeks of the tour anyway.
‘Unfortunately my caddie was involved with a ruling on the 18th that caused me to fall from [tied for second] to [tied for third],’ he said.
‘My actions were less then professional and I apologize to my caddie and those that took offense to my behaviors.’
Gibson was universally condemned by fans and other golfers for his outburst, regardless of whether Davis was to blame for the penalty.
Davis strongly denied the incident was his fault, telling his side of the story in a video online.
Davis strongly denied the incident was his fault, telling his side of the story in a video online
‘We looked for the ball. I’m thinking “there’s some rocks here, a few other things… maybe we can find it, maybe we can hit it”,’ he said.
A tour official then found the ball and he and Gibson walked over to look at it’s position, but Davis said ‘it’s under two rocks, we got nothing’.
‘Rhein turns around and walks to his bag as if to say “forget it” – clearly intending never to play the ball,’ he continued.
‘Supposedly we’re a team in this game. The ball is dead, Rhein is clearly not hitting this golf ball, so I go over and pick it up.’
Daivs went on to claim the penalty was handed out in error, citing the relevant golfing rule in an effort to clear his name.
Gibson later apologised for his actions but continued to blame his caddie, who he said he was only using for the first two weeks of the tour anyway
Daivs went on to claim the penalty was handed out in error, citing the relevant golfing rule in an effort to clear his name
‘Rules official screwed up, Decision 26.1/9 states that if it’s assumed it won’t be played a caddie can pick it up without the players’ permission without penalty,’ he said.
‘We’d already picked our drop spot, we weren’t playing it! I found the rule. I’m defending what I did. I did nothing wrong.’
The rule states: ‘There is no penalty under Rule 18-2 if there was no doubt or it was reasonable to assume from the player’s actions or statements that he would make his next stroke from outside the water hazard.’
Davis drew plenty of support from golf fans, one of whom even started a GoFundMe page aiming to give him more cash that Gibson’s US$40,800 prize money.