Web.com Tour player Rhein Gibson suffered a final-round meltdown Wednesday that cost him a shot at the tournament title as well as his caddie and resulted in a public apology for his actions.
Gibson, who trailed by a stroke going to the par-5 18th hole in the final round of the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic, needed a birdie to force a playoff. Instead, he hit his second shot into a hazard.
Gibson's caddie, Brandon Davis, picked up the ball from the hazard before Gibson had taken a drop, resulting in a violation of Rule 18-2 and a one-stroke penalty.
After Gibson's next shot, television cameras caught him throwing a club headcover at Davis as he started walking toward the green.
The extra stroke dropped Gibson out of a two-way tie for second place into solo third place, which also resulted in $12,000 in lost earnings because of the third-place finish.
"Unfortunately my caddy was involved with a ruling on the 18th that caused me to fall from t2 to 3rd," Gibson later tweeted. "My actions were less then professional and I apologize to my caddy and those that took offense to my behaviors."
Davis also tweeted that he believed there was no violation and said the situation resulted in his being fired as Gibson's caddie.
