A frightening incident occurred on Friday during the second round of the PGA Tour’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am when the caddie for an amateur player, Pebble Beach businessman Geoff Couch, collapsed on the course while the group including Tour pros Beau Hossler and Max McGreevy and country singer Lukas Nelson were playing the 11th hole.
The caddie received CPR at the scene and was transported to a local hospital. He is alive but there were no additional reports on his condition as of Saturday morning.
Todd Lewis of Golf Channel reported that the person was expected to survive.
After the caddie was transported, PGA Tour rules officials encourage Hossler and McGreevy to continue playing but both said they were too shaken at that point. Other groups began playing through and Hossler and McGreevy returned to the course two hours later after receiving assurances the caddie was out of danger.
Both of them finished the 11th hole with pars and both bogeyed the 12th hole. Hossler played his last eight holes at 1-under and shot 72 and McGreevy played even par after returning and shot 75.
Incidents such as that are rare but every PGA Tour event has numerous first-aid stations and first responders within a short cart ride of any spot on the course. The Players Championship at the TPC Sawgrass, for example, has six first-aid stations, a main medical facility and an entire committee of doctors, nurses and EMTs who volunteer for the tournament each year.
Other notable cases of players, caddies, or fans falling ill or victims of severe weather at professional golf tournaments:
