Bottle hits Aussie's caddie as 'watering hole' goes off

The caddie of Australian golfer Lucas Hubert avoided serious injury despite copping a full water bottle to the head on the famous “watering hole” on day two of LIV Golf Adelaide.

Bagman Nick Pugh was hit in the head by a water bottle while putting the flag back in the cup on The Grange Golf Club’s 12th hole, famous for a DJ and rowdy fans.

Pugh fell to his knees when he was hit by the bottle, but Hubert said after shooting a seven-under 65 for the second round that his caddie was all right.

“I was worried about him to begin with, but he’s good now,” Hubert said.

“He’s good and he took it really well. He could have been a lot more upset with it, but he took it really well.

“It’s probably difficult to request someone who has had 15 beers to aim a water bottle away from someone. That’s maybe asking too much.

“[Playing partner] ‘Gracey’ [Branden Grace] made a putt from the top tier and some drinks landed on the green. That’s good fun and it’s in the right spots, so we can deal with it.

“A few pushed it too far, but the crowd self-policed and they got some boos when they were throwing things too close. That’s about as crazy as it needs to get.”

American Brendan Steele, a three-time PGA Tour winner, shot an eight-under 64 to establish a one-stroke lead at 14-under.

New Zealander Danny Lee is a stroke behind after a 67, followed by Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz (68) and Chile’s Mito Pereira (67) in a tie for third at 12-under.

The top Australian after two rounds is Cameron Smith, who’s locked in fifth at 11-under with Patrick Reed, Dean Burmester and Cameron Tringale.

First-round leader Jinichiro Kozuma is tied for ninth after shooting a 71.

Smith said he was grateful for the lady an errant shot hit on the 17th hole. The shot rebounded kindly off the woman and Smith ended up with a birdie on the hole.

“I hit her in the back,” Smith said.

“It probably wasn’t going to be in the trees, but it was going to be in the rough and a different lie, so it could have been a different outcome. But [I] made her proud and made a birdie there, and she helped me out. Hopefully that eased the pain a little bit for her.”

A new friendship ensued.

“She was nice,” Smith said.

“I went over there and I signed a ball, and she said, ‘Just give me a hug’, so I gave her a hug, as well. She was sweet.”

Smith is the only player to have not suffered a bogey through two rounds.