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Baddeley leads US PGA event as Allenby's caddie quits

8th September, 2007
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8th September, 2007
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Aaron Baddeley earned a share of the halfway lead at the BMW Championship in Chicago, but fellow Victorian Robert Allenby attracted more attention when his caddie quit during the round.

Matthew “Bussy” Tritton dumped the bag near the seventh tee, removed his bib and walked off, much to the astonishment of the accompanying gallery, leaving Allenby to call upon trainer Vern McMillan to carry the bag the final 12 holes at Cog Hill.

“It’s not the first time and it won’t be the last time,” quipped Allenby, whose caddie once quit in the middle of the 1995 British Open at St Andrews.

“His girlfriend came into town last night and I think he might have been a bit toey, so I think that’s probably why he left me,” Allenby joked.

“I can understand he left me to go to her.

“I’m not really sure what happened. I pulled the three-wood and asked him to throw us the five-wood.

He just ignored me, and I know he heard me, because I didn’t say it softly.

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“I said ‘Bussy, what’s wrong? I might be playing like a piece of shit, but come on’ and he started whinging at me. He said ‘you want me to leave, don’t you’? and I said ‘no, I don’t want you to leave’ and he said ‘well I’m leaving’. He just spat the dummy and left.”

Tritton declined to comment, other than to say that he disagreed with Allenby’s recollections of the event.

Allenby even laughed about the time Mike “Sponge” Waite, who currently works for Kiwi Michael Campbell, quit at hallowed St Andrews, the home of golf.

“Sponge picked the bag up over his head and threw it and took off. I carried it all the way to the green and he came back and said ‘I’m professional; I’ll do my job and then you can go f yourself’.

“I’m quite used to it. I’ve had lots of caddies walk off on me but they always come back, because I pay them too much.”

Baddeley, meanwhile, had no problems with his caddie as he fired eight birdies in a spectacular 65 to share the lead with American Jonathan Byrd at nine-under 133, one stroke ahead of four players including Tiger Woods.

Baddeley has something to prove to himself, after failing to make the International team for this month’s Presidents Cup.

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He was very much in the running but missed the cut at last month’s US PGA Championship, the final qualifying event.

“I just didn’t play well enough to force my way onto the team,” he said.

“I was right there, 10th or 11th (in the standings) for most of the year, and to not make the team was disappointing.”

Baddeley was not the only Australian in contention, with Stuart Appleby trailing by three strokes, Adam Scott and Nathan Green by five.

And Allenby was 10 strokes behind, picking up three strokes after his caddie departed.

By Andrew Both – © 2007 AAP

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