UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. – Beware the injured caddie.
Well, at least that’s how Henrik Stenson viewed his plight on Thursday following a first-round 65 that left him tied with Dustin Johnson atop the U.S. Open leaderboard.
Stenson’s caddie, Gareth Lord, worked Day 1 at Chambers Bay with a cast on his left wrist after taking a tumble during Wednesday’s practice round.
“His famous words coming down, he said, ‘I hope I don’t fall this week, that would make it a good week,’” Stenson said. “Walking off 16, both feet in the air, got trapped with a wrist under the bag.”
Lord went to a local hospital on Wednesday and had X-rays but Stenson said they were not sure if his caddie had broken any bones or just injured some ligaments.
Full-field scores: 115th U.S. Open
Stephen Gallacher’s caddie, Damian Moore, sprained his right ankle on Wednesday when he took a spill down one of Chambers Bay’s towering hills and needed to be replaced for the opening round.
“He’s not in a good place with the hand, but he managed to caddie and did a good job for me anyway. I had to caddie for him a little bit, as well,” Stenson smiled.