LIV Golf caddie takes bottle to the head at raucous Adelaide event
Lucas Herbert’s caddie Nick Pugh was caught by a flying water bottle on LIV Golf’s party hole in Adelaide…
It was a happy homecoming for Ripper GC in Adelaide as they won the sixth event of the 2024 LIV Golf season.
But the Australian-based team’s first victory in the Saudi-backed league didn’t come easy, especially for the caddie of Lucas Herbert who fell victim to a flying bottle on the par-3 12th hole in the second round.
After Herbert rolled in a short putt on the ‘Watering Hole’, what is LIV Golf’s answer to the PGA Tour’s Stadium hole at TPC Scottsdale, various liquids were thrown on to the green by the fans in celebration.
But as footage on X (formerly Twitter) shows, a bottle rocketed through the air and hit Nick Pugh in the head as he was putting the flag back in the hole.
“I was worried about him to begin with, but he’s good now,” Herbert said afterwards via The Sydney Morning Herald.
“He’s good, and he took it really well. He could have been a lot more upset with it, but he took it really well.
“It’s probably difficult to request someone who has had 15 beers to aim a water bottle away from someone. That’s maybe asking too much,” he added.
“(Branden Grace) made a putt from the top tier and some drinks landed on the green. That’s good fun, and it’s in the right spots so we can deal with it. A few pushed it too far. But the crowd self-policed and they got some boos when they were throwing things too close. That’s about as crazy as it needs to get.”
LIV Golf party hole: Too much or just a bit of fun?
The Watering Hole saw jubilant, alcohol-soaked scenes last season when Chase Koepka made a hole-in-one. This year represents the second time that the LIV Golf League has visited Australia and 94,000 fans flooded to the Adelaide venue to watch some of the world’s best players compete throughout the week.
The Grange Golf Club played host to LIV’s first-ever team playoff on Sunday which saw Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman of Ripper GC face Louis Oosthuizen and Dean Burmester of Stinger GC in a format where each player’s score counted towards their total on each hole.
After the South African pair both bogeyed the second playoff hole, Smith and Leishman respectively made a bogey and a par to take the title.
Brendan Steele, who plays for Phil Mickelson’s Hy Flyers side, won the individual event and helped his side to just a second top-three finish since the start-up league’s inception in June 2022.
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NOW READ: LIV Golf teams 2024
Ugly scenes with Lucas Herbert caddie, but did you otherwise enjoy watching LIV Golf this week? Tell us on X!
Matt Chivers
Now on the wrong side of 25, Matt has been playing golf since the age of 13 and was largely inspired to take up the game by countless family members who played golf during his childhood.
Matt is a member at Royal Cinque Ports in Deal playing off a 5 handicap, just a pitching wedge away from his hometown of Dover where he went to school and grew up. He has previously been a member at Etchinghill and Walmer and Kingsdown in Kent.
Having studied history at the University of Liverpool, Matt went on to pass his NCTJ Exams in Manchester a year later to fulfil his lifelong ambition of becoming a journalist. He picked up work experience along the way at places such as the Racing Post, the Independent, Sportsbeat and the Lancashire Evening Post.
Matt joined NCG in February 2023 and is the website’s main source of tour news, features and opinion. He has reported live from events such as The Open, the Ryder Cup and The Players Championship, having also interviewed and spent time with some of the biggest names in the sport.
Consuming tour golf on what is a 24/7 basis, you can come to Matt for informed views on the game and the latest updates on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour, Ladies European Tour and LIV Golf.
What’s in Matt’s bag: Cobra LTDx LS driver, Cobra LTDx 3-wood, TaylorMade P7MC irons, Ping Glide 4.0 wedges, Odyssey putter.
