"Oh, mistake"... 'When the caddie holds an umbrella while putting'

Violation of Golf Rule 10.2b(5) '2 Penalty Strokes'
No Assistance from Others During Stroke
Ye-won Lee, Ye-jin Kim, Gyeol Park 'Caddie Mistake'

A caddie is an assistant. For players living the tour life, they are a partner in victory.

However, sometimes they inadvertently make things difficult for the player. This happened at the Hanwha Classic, the third major tournament of the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour season, which concluded last week at Jade Palace Golf Club in Chuncheon, Gangwon-do. It occurred on the green of the 3rd hole (par 4) during the first round. When two-time champion Lee Ye-won was about to make a par putt, her caddie was caught holding an umbrella over her. This is a two-stroke penalty. Although Lee Ye-won holed out with a par, she was penalized and recorded a double bogey on her scorecard. Through her resilience, reducing five strokes each in rounds 3 and 4, she rose to a tie for second place. She currently leads in prize money and points for the season-long award.

Ye-won Lee received a two-stroke penalty when her caddie held an umbrella over her while putting on the green at the 3rd hole of the first round of the Hanwha Classic.

This is a violation of golf rule 10.2b(5). It prohibits a player from deliberately having their caddie or another person stand to protect them from sunlight, rain, wind, or other elements while making a stroke. The penalty is two strokes in stroke play and loss of the hole in match play. A player may receive assistance from their caddie at any time before making a stroke. There is no penalty if the player makes a chip shot or putt while holding an umbrella themselves, as no assistance from another person is involved.

Mistakes related to umbrellas occasionally occur. In August 2016, Kim Ye-jin overcame a mistake made by her father, who was acting as her caddie, to achieve her first career victory at the High1 Resort Ladies Open. On the 7th hole (par 4) of the fourth round, her father was found to have held an umbrella until her par putt was completed, violating the rules. At that time, she was leading by five strokes but suddenly her par turned into a double bogey, allowing her closest competitor to close the gap to one stroke. After receiving the penalty, she played without an umbrella in heavy rain and fortunately secured a two-stroke victory.

“Beautiful golfer” Park Gyeol also received a two-stroke penalty due to her caddie’s mistake on the 9th hole (par 4) of the second round at the 2021 Jeju Samdasoo Masters. A 4-meter par putt narrowly missed, and she tapped in a 30 cm bogey putt with her putter. At the moment Park was making the par putt, her caddie held an umbrella over her. The moment the caddie shielded Park’s head with the umbrella lasted just about one second. A player may not be protected from natural elements such as rain and wind by anyone other than themselves while making a stroke.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.