David Lipsky was forced to find a last-minute caddie replacement at the Baycurrent Classic in Japan after his bagman quit in the middle of the tournament. Veteran caddie Darren Woolard abandoned his duties ahead of Sunday's final round at Yokohama Country Club, approximately 20 miles south of Tokyo, telling Lipsky to find someone else after declaring he had reached his limit.
Struggles on the course
Lipsky stepped onto the tee for the concluding round with a new caddie by his side. The split followed a disappointing run of form, with Lipsky opening the tournament with a promising 66 before slumping to rounds of 72 and 73.
During Sunday's final round, he dropped shots on two of the last three holes, carding a one-under 70 for the day.
Similar incidents on tour
This was not an isolated incident, as just weeks earlier at the Biltmore Championship in Asheville, Alejandro Tosti's caddie, Cliff Ellis, removed his bib and walked away from the bag on the 18th hole. It was only Tosti's ninth hole of the day, and according to an interview Ellis gave to Ryan French, published on The Monday Q website, Tosti had called him a "dumb***".
Tosti was subsequently forced to pull a spectator, Patrick Talledo, from the crowd to carry his bag for the remaining holes. He ultimately missed the 36-hole cut.
As one caddie succinctly put it: "Caddie consistency right now of rank and file is about as rare as leftover bacon."
Other caddie changes
Caddie changes are far from uncommon on the PGA Tour, as demonstrated by Garrick Higgo, who parted ways with his bagman shortly after receiving a two-stroke penalty at the PGA Championship for arriving late to his tee time. His caddie had called out to him to make his way to the tee box before he was declared late, and Higgo subsequently missed the cut by a single stroke before dismissing his caddie once the tournament had concluded.
His caddie, Austin Gaugert, issued an apology following the incident, after Higgo expressed some bewilderment over how he had come to miss his tee time.
"I want to say something about the incident with Garrick Higgo being late to the tee on Thursday at the PGA Championship," wrote Gaugert in a statement. "As a caddie, you try to do everything you can to prepare your player for competition, and I fell short of that. Garrick was understanding throughout the situation and handled it with professionalism and class."
"This has happened to players before and will again. Garrick handled this difficult situation with grace, and I wish him nothing but success moving forward."
