Caddie left red-faced (!) as bag falls over and hits Lydia Ko’s ball during LPGA Tour finale
Caddie Paul Cormack was left red-faced during the LPGA Tour‘s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburón Golf Club in Naples, Florida, after his bag fell down and hit Lydia Ko’s ball.
Ko and Cormack were contemplating their second shot into the par-4 9th during the second round on Friday.
A gust of wind then picked up and knocked Ko’s bag down onto the ground and against her golf ball.
Thankfully for both Ko and Cormack there was no penalty under the rules of golf.
Ko called in an LPGA Tour rules official but she was cleared of any foul play because the ball was moved by an ‘outside influence’.
The former World No.1 was therefore allowed to replace her ball without penalty under Rule 9.3.
Had it been determined Ko’s caddie Cormack made the bag move then it would have been a one-shot penalty.
But that was no the case.
Ko went on to make par.
Scroll below to watch what happened…
Golf Rules Questions on Instagram cleared up the ruling on Instagram.
‘What is the ruling?’ the account posed on an Instagram Reel.
‘To answer this we need to ascertain what caused the ball to move: it was the golf bag, but what caused the bag to move?
‘Was it the caddie pushing the bag over, or was it the wind (natural force)?
‘In this case the committee determined it was the wind and therefore the player incurred no penalty.
‘The ball must be replaced (because the final movement was by the bag – outside influence.’
Ko finds herself in T12 heading into the final round on 8-under par.
That is seven shots off the pace, currently set by Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul and America’s Angel Yin.
England’s Charley Hull is four shots back in T4, while World No.1 Nelly Korda is six shots behind in T8.
Who is Lydia Ko’s caddie?
Lydia Ko’s caddie is Paul Cormack.
Cormack of Scotland began working for Ko at the end of 2023.
Ko had formerly been working with Derek Kistler, but that relationship ended last season.
She also worked briefly with David Jones, who caddied for her in the past.
But her current bagman is Cormack, who attempted a career as a golf pro before settling as a caddie.
He also worked as a barman and postman before taking up caddying duties full time.
Cormack worked for LPGA Tour and European Solheim Cup player Anna Nordqvist for a few years between 2021 and 2023.
He then worked briefly for Kevin Chappell on the PGA Tour before joining Ko’s bag at the end of 2023.
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