Keegan Bradley Penalized For 15 Clubs

This is my thought as well. I mean, how long is it before they pull the bag out of the locker, hit the range, putting green, do whatever. The first they (both Keegan and the caddie) notice the extra club is on the second hole? How does that happen? Especially if it's a common occurrence to decide between the two clubs based on location, course, whatever.

I don't know, I've had my driver and 3 wood head covers covering one of my longer irons before. So if you aren't using those clubs I can see how it could go unnoticed.
 
Depending on the tournament Keegan uses either a hybrid or a larger soled 3 iron. For this round, he and his caddy forgot to take one of them out.

“I don’t know what we missed to not catch that”, was Bradley's comment post round.

Steve Hale took the blame, saying, “That’s on me.”

“He’s a great caddie. We all make mistakes.”, Keegan went on to say.

I actually wonder what Bubba Watson would have said if this had taken place...haha

PGA Tour.com broke the story yesterday.

I respect KB a lot for his reaction to this. He's not exactly playing lights out golf, and that score of 66 would have been his best on the year. To have the control he did, take ownership as a group with 'we' instead of blaming his caddie is great -- And he's right, because I've never gone to the first tee without knowing full well what was in the bag.. And neither should he/they.

It would entertain me to see Bubba leave an extra club in the bag and the meltdown that would follow.
 
Accountability can be delegated, responsibility can not. Keegan is the one responsible.

This...

Could not have said it better.
 
Its a shame that pre shot routine isnt considered an extra club.... painful to watch
 
For me, this is one of the caddies jobs, I can't imagine many pros look in their bag at what clubs are there before they tee off.
Why can't you imagine that? For me, with millions on the line, each and every week ... with my livelihood at stake ... I damn well know what's in the bag at all times. Can't imagine I'm the only one who feels that way.
 
It's hard to hang it all on the caddie, and I have a hard time believing pros don't check their bags.
 
I don't know, I've had my driver and 3 wood head covers covering one of my longer irons before. So if you aren't using those clubs I can see how it could go unnoticed.
I see your point, but do you think Keegan didn't work enough through his bag on the range for either of them to notice both clubs in the bag?
 
I see your point, but do you think Keegan didn't work enough through his bag on the range for either of them to notice both clubs in the bag?

Was thinking about this as well. I assume that if it's a battle between two clubs, they are both getting hit regardless to see which one is working better. Why bother returning to the bag the one that isn't going into play?

Why not just leave it out?
 
Was thinking about this as well. I assume that if it's a battle between two clubs, they are both getting hit regardless to see which one is working better. Why bother returning to the bag the one that isn't going into play?

Why not just leave it out?
Exactly.

I rotate set wedges on a fairly consistent basis. One day after a round I through both sets in the bag in the trunk with the intentions of cleaning the clubs in between rounds. Then guess what? I left the bag in the trunk, forgot about cleaning them, and then was late arriving for my next round. Halfway to the pro shop from my car I noticed the two sets of wedges.

I just can't fathom how neither of them noticed this in the hours (?) leading up to teeing off. Someone obviously dropped the ball (Keegan not telling his caddie which club to toss; or him telling the caddie that and the caddie not following through).
 
It is the caddies fault 100%. They carry the bag it's their job to make sure everything that should be there and not is there. Glad that they both handled it correctly.
 
It is the caddies fault 100%. They carry the bag it's their job to make sure everything that should be there and not is there. Glad that they both handled it correctly.

Man that's so tough.. I could never exclusively blame my caddie for something like that.
 
I would not blame my caddie because it's my job to tell him what clubs I want to play. But it is his job to look over the bag before we go out. That makes it his fault.

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I would not blame my caddie because it's my job to tell him what clubs I want to play. But it is his job to look over the bag before we go out. That makes it his fault.

Is that some sort of unwritten rule of caddying that I don't know about?
 
Is that some sort of unwritten rule of caddying that I don't know about?
Ummm I have no clue. I just figured that is how it would work. Thought they would be in charge of the bag and making sure everything was right.

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Golfer and his caddie are a team. Both should share the blame and it's nice to see them handling it that way.

Different players in a team handle different responsibilities.
 
There were two of these penalties yesterday....one on the LPGA tour as well....both for 3 irons
 
I see your point, but do you think Keegan didn't work enough through his bag on the range for either of them to notice both clubs in the bag?

I have no clue what his routine is for practicing. I was just saying I can see how one could miss having an extra club and not notice it as it's easy for a head cover to hide another club. I wasn't trying to say that's what happened here.

This obviously doesn't happen very often and it sounds like they are unsure how it happened as well. I just appreciate the way he handled it.
 
I would not blame my caddie because it's my job to tell him what clubs I want to play. But it is his job to look over the bag before we go out. That makes it his fault.

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I can tell you, many times a player will grab a club while on the range from an equipment rep or putting green or anywhere, and stick it in the bag without the caddies knowledge, and full well mean to tell him about it or take it out himself, and being human he just forgets and the caddie was none the wiser. yes he carries it and checks it, but if he just checked it before going to the range and then picks it up on the putting green, he may legitimately think there is no reason to check it again.

Anything that goes wrong is the caddy's fault!

You forgot to add..signed Bubba Watson :D
 
Different players in a team handle different responsibilities.
Sure, but the caddy isn't responsible for the player knowing and following the rules.

Both guys mucked up, and it's nice to see them take the blame as a team.
 
More on the caddie here, however if it's a club in his bag that he alternates in and out, it's not out of the question for KB to say "hey we are going with the 3 iron instead of the hybrid." Maybe he did say that and it just got missed. But it's a silly penalty to have to take because it's so easy to count to 14.

Once I get to the 20s I start to stumble a bit until I get to the 40s, smooth sailing after that.
 
I think Keegan took some responsibility saying we missed it


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I'm not a caddie and don't play one on TV but I would have to put this mistake on the caddie though KG is ultimately responsible because he is the one who is assessed the penalty. The caddie's first job is to ensure that his player can maintain focus on the game itself. Players don't clean the clubs, the balls, replace divots, carry the bag or anything of the like. When they ask a caddie for a club I have never once seen a pro turn the club upside down to make sure it is the right one (though I have seen this happen after a shot). They have to trust their caddie, they can't do their job for them. Players swing the club, that is their main job and should be their main focus. People aren't perfect. My Dad used to say "The last perfect person died on the cross 2000 years ago." I do expect that KB and his caddie will figure why this happened and work into their routine a procedure to ensure that this doesn't happen again.
 
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