The Open: Tommy Fleetwood Feels Sting of R&A’s New Bunker Policy

Before the start of this year’s Open Championship, the R&A announced that, unlike previous editions, caddies would be responsible for raking the sand in the bunkers. It didn’t take long for the measure to rear its ugly head, with fan favorite Tommy Fleetwood as the first victim.

The Englishman had a bumpy front nine, with just one birdie and three bogeys. However, his lowest point came on the fifth hole, where he had to deal not only with a bunker shot, but also with the footprints of the previous player whose caddie failed to rake the sand.

The moment proved to be very stressful for Fleetwood, who had just made a bogey on the previous hole. He looked so uncomfortable that he even used a couple of profanities, something very unusual for him.

“For (expletive) sake, man. (Expletive)!” he said, according to Golf.com.

To make matters worse, Fleetwood was unsuccessful in his attempt to get out of the bunker. The ball hit the edge of the slope and traveled only six yards. Fleetwood then reached the green with his third shot and two-putted for bogey.

Legendary caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay, who is covering the event as an on-course reporter for Golf Channel, said this situation is a first for him, despite his long career in the business.

“I’m not sure I have ever seen this before at a professional golf event,” Mackay said, according to Golf.com. “Whoever played from this bunker previously forgot to rake it, the caddie did. Tommy now has an awful lie, lucky to avoid the footprints that were made by the previous player.”

The R&A Didn’t Explain Much

For a considerable number of years, each group of players at The Open Championship had a volunteer responsible for raking the bunkers. This measure aimed to speed up the pace of play by freeing players and caddies from this extra task.

However, for this year’s edition of the season’s final major, the R&A decided to adopt a different policy, assigning this task to caddies.

R&A CEO Mark Darbon did not elaborate much on the reasons for this policy change.

“I think this week we’ve got the caddies raking the bunkers. It’s a change for us but we think a good one (for) a number of factors. We just think it’s a good model for us here at Portrush,” he said during his pre-tournament press conference.

According to a study conducted by Golf.com, all indications are that the caddie who left the fifth hole bunker in the condition Tommy Fleetwood found it was the one accompanying Sebastian Cave, one of the nine amateurs competing at Royal Portrush.

So far, there’s no word on whether this infraction will be investigated and sanctioned. For now, Fleetwood is the only one bearing the consequences.

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