Robert Allenby finshed his opening round of the KBC Canadian Open without a caddie, after an incident on the 13th hole which saw Mick Middlemo walk off the course.
It was at Allenby’s fourth hole, the par-five 13th at Glen Abbey, when the exchange took place.
After a disagreement over the club selection and an approach shot, the Australian found the creek in front of the green and the hole resulted in a triple-bogey.
"My nerves have been rattled. I’m in shock,” Allenby told SCOREGolf regarding the heated exchange.
“This is the worst incident I’ve ever witnessed as a player.
"I said to him (Middlemo), ‘You know this happens every week. We keep making bad mistakes and you’re not helping me in these circumstances’.
“He just lost the plot at me. He got right in my face as if he wanted to just beat me up. I said, ‘Stop being a such-and-such and calm down and get back into the game’. And he just got even closer and closer and I just said, ‘That’s it, you’re sacked’.”
A poor opening round of 81 has seen the 44-year-old withdraw from the tournament.
Middlemo offered his version of events and slated Allenby for hurling persona linsults at him.
“Robert’s a pretty highly strung individual and he hasn’t been playing great of late,” Middlemo told Australian radio station SEN.
"We had a discussion about a club, then of course I copped the wrath of that.
“Then unfortunately the personal insults started. I’ve been called a bad caddie ... but when the personal insults come in and you’re being called a fat so-and-so ... I got a little bit peeved by it and then the third time he said it I walked up to him and basically said ‘I dare you to say that to me again’.
“He didn’t say it again. There was never going to be any violence ... I was just going to put the bag down, get my gear and leave.”
Allenby is no stranger to the situation when Matthew Tritton dumped his bag near the seventh tee, removed his bib and walked off at the 2007 BMW Open.
“It’s not the first time and it won’t be the last time,” quipped Allenby at the time.
Another of his previous caddies quit during the 1995 Open Championship at St Andrews.
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