Caddie Network

Caddie blunder leads to crushing U.S. Amateur loss for Segundo Oliva Pinto

T.J. Auclair
Segundo Oliva Pinto (left) lost his Round of 16 match at the U.S. Amateur on Thursday evening when his caddie tested the surface of a bunker resulting in an automatic loss of hole on No. 18.

Argentina’s Segundo Oliva Pinto suffered as heartbreaking a loss as you’ll ever see in golf at the U.S. Amateur in the Round of 16 on Thursday evening and none of it was his doing.

Instead, it was a blunder from Oliva Pinto’s caddie that allowed American Tyler Strafaci to win the match 1 up and advance.

Oliva Pinto squared the match on the 16th hole at Bandon Dunes with a birdie. Both players parred 17, sending the match to the 18th hole.

Oliva Pinto hit his approach into a greenside bunker.

That’s where things got crazy. Oliva Pinto stepped into the bunker to check out his lie. He then exited the bunker to go get a look at the green. While doing that, his caddie inexplicably walked into the bunker and touched the sand. That resulted in an automatic loss of hole for Oliva Pinto due to his caddie “testing the surface.”

Here’s the USGA rule on testing the surface:

Restrictions on Touching Sand in Bunker

When Touching Sand Results in Penalty. Before making a stroke at a ball in a bunker, a player must not:

  • Deliberately touch sand in the bunker with a hand, club, rake or other object to test the condition of the sand to learn information for the next stroke, or
  • Touch sand in the bunker with a club:
    • In the area right in front of or right behind the ball (except as allowed under Rule 7.1a in fairly searching for a ball or under Rule 12.2a in removing a loose impediment or movable obstruction),
    • In making a practice swing, or
    • In making the backswing for a stroke.

The caddie — a local from Bandon Dunes named Brant Brewer — denied touching the sand, but the video evidence clearly shows otherwise.

Here’s how it went down:

Class response from Oliva Pinto:

Here’s some reaction from PGA Tour caddies who saw the infraction:

Exit mobile version