Augusta National again showed a bizarre side at this week’s Masters in barring the Canadian-born caddy to US Amateur champion Matthew Fitzpatrick simply because he was wearing incorrect footwear.
Fitzpatrick’s caddy Lorne Duncan, who was so much looking forward to caddying for the English-born amateur, was told by Masters officials he could not wear his usual sandals because it was against the club rules.ngest names in Europe including former Ryder Cup star Nicolas Fasth, Jesper Parnevik, Pierre Fulke and a host of other players, and without the slightest hint of any controversy in the manner he conducted his duties.
Canadian-born Lorne Duncan has caddied for several decades on the European Tour wearing sandals but now Augusta National won’t let him set foot on the golf course.
But that meant little to Augusta National who has clearly suffered from a foot problem and is unable to wear normal track shoes, and despite a furious row with the officials, who he is reported to have called “pathetic” it proved to no avail.
“I can’t wear trainers because of the condition of my feet,” he said. “But apparently aesthetics are more important than people.”
In fact, Duncan was on Fitzpatrick’s bag when he made the cut in last year’s Open Championship at Muirfield and competed alongside England’s Tom Lewis when he shot a first-round 65 at Sandwich in the 2011 Open Championship, andthe lowest score by an amateur in the Open’s history.
With Augusta stopping Duncan from stepping out onto the golf course it put Fitzpatrick in an awkward position of having to find a replacement.
Fitzpatrick’s coach went to Lee Westwood’s caddie, Billy Foster, seeing if he could help and Foster, and the fellow Yorkshireman was able to organise for Ricky Elliott, who works for South African Brooks Koepka to assist.
Elliott has caddied at Augusta in the past for former Open Champion Ben Curtis.
Fitzpatrick played down the controversy saying: “It doesn’t bother me. “I’m very happy to be here and look forward to the week with an experienced caddie on the bag.”
The US Amateur champion played a practice round Tuesday in the company of double Major winner Rory McIlroy and with McIlroy’s caddy J P Fitzgerald sizing up the situation and asking McIlro if he’d like to play alongside Fitzpatrick.
“I’m very impressed with Matt’s game,” said McIlroy. “He hits the ball nice. He is not overly long but he is very solid, very steady and has a very tidy short game. And he does not seem to be in awe of the venue.”
Officials, as is customary, have grouped the current US Amateur champion with defending Masters champion Adam Scott for the opening two rounds of the year’s first Major.
Belfast-born caddy Ricky Elliott ‘steps’ forward after Augusta National’s bizarre ruling to ban the normal caddy to the US Amateur champion.
“I can’t imagine how good it must feel to be a 19-year-old playing the Masters,” Scott said.
“I got to play my first two rounds here on my debut with Fuzzy Zoeller and he was whistling as we walked off the first tee. So it was a more light-hearted experience than I thought it would be.
“Unfortunately for Matt I’m not going to be whistling on the first tee, so he’ll just have to find another way to calm down. Matt just needs to enjoy it.”
