Golfer throws headcover at caddie and sacks him on live TV
What do you mean you haven’t heard of Rhein Gibson? Why else would I put “golfer” in the headline rather than his name?
You should know him, he’s won three times as a pro, including the Opens of Arkansas and Oklahoma, where his name is etched on the winners’ boards alongside esteemed company such as Matt VanCleave, Rocky Walcher and Willy Wood.
Maybe you know Gibson as a Guinness World Record holder for shooting a 16-under round of 55 in 2012. I didn’t know any of this until about five minutes ago. Thanks Wikipedia.
Anyway it now it looks like he’ll be remembered for an incident that marred the end of the Web.com Tour’s Bahamas Great Abaco Classic, where he removed his putter headcover on the 18th green the tossed it into the chest of Davis.
Luckily a whole bunch of people recorded it off their TVs to put on Twitter. I’ve chosen this guy because he offers his own commentary…
OooooooooWeeeeee Rhein Gibson was nootttt happy with his caddy!!! Yikes!!! That was an expensive mistake by his caddy. pic.twitter.com/qeMGqXZ9Vg
— Tony Roth (@toneroth) January 24, 2018
So what had happened before this incident? Well Gibson had hoiked his ball into a hazard near the 18th green.
Davis takes up the story: “We looked for the ball and I’m thinking, ‘There are some rocks here, a few other things… maybe we can find it, maybe we can hit it’.”
Davis said an official pointed the ball out to them.
“Rhein and I go over and look at it,” he adds. “I say, ‘It’s under two rocks, we’ve got nothing.’ Rhein turns around and walks to his bag as if to say, ‘Forget it.’ [He’s] clearly intending never to play the ball.
“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.”
Fast forward a couple of minutes, Gibson takes a penalty drop and then the official informs him he will receive an additional one-shot penalty for Davis “not getting consent” to pick up the ball.
The docked shot was the difference between a tie for 2nd and solo 3rd. It also cost him $12,000 and Davis his job.
Gibson later apologised on Twitter – mainly because he’d been caught…
Unfortunately my caddy was involved with a ruling on the 18th that caused me to fall from t2 to 3rd. My actions were less then professional and I apologize to my caddy and those that took offense to my behaviors.
— Rhein Gibson (@RheinGibson55) January 24, 2018
Before Davis hit back…
I was his caddy and did nothing wrong, here's the proof:
Decision 26.1/9
A.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. https://t.co/W8dQHmAkeK
— Brandon Davis (@bdavistwo) January 25, 2018
Here's exactly what happened…Ball was dead underneath two rocks and I told you about it and you said "fuck" and turned around stopped looking and walked back to the bag. The tour official actually found the unhittable ball. I then went over and quickly retrieved it.
100% fact. https://t.co/W8dQHmAkeK
— Brandon Davis (@bdavistwo) January 25, 2018
And here’s the YouTube video, titled “I got fired”. It’s wonderfully entertaining, and actually has a rather surprising ending…
As Shooter McGavin would say: “Dammit people, this is golf!”
The world according to… Haydn Porteous
Golf must compromise or it risks losing a generation
250 days until the Ryder Cup and Europe is dominating the world
Alex Perry
Alex has been the editor of National Club Golfer since 2017. A Devonian who enjoys wittering on about his south west roots, Alex moved north to join NCG after more than a decade in London, the last five of which were with ESPN. Away from golf, Alex follows Torquay United and spends too much time playing his PlayStation or his guitar and not enough time practising his short game.
