Lindsey Weaver still own caddy even though LPGA Tour announces modified protocols.

“Projected temperatures next week will range from 105-115 and we are very conscious of the high heat,” the LPGA Tour told players and caddies in a memo. “(This year) has been the year of health and safety, and with that in mind, we will be allowing caddies to take carts for the week.”

Players will still be required to walk. However, even with the modified protocols in place, not all caddies will utilize carts. And some players will not even use caddies for the week, such as Lindsey Weaver, who has pushing the cart for her clubs since golf’s restart in June.

Weaver created somewhat of a stir amongst announcers when she had to rake her own bunkers at Royal Troon Golf Club.

“Of course, she’s got to rake her own bunkers. Oh my goodness,” an announcer said. 

“Rake your own bunker, then you got to sanitize your hands before you go back. It’s awful,” a second announcer said.

“And you’re trying to win a major championship,” a third announcer said. 

Weaver looked up from the left side of the steep, greenside, pot bunker, bent back over her ball and lofted it out. Next, she raked the trap, dropped the rake, jogged over to her bag, put the club in her bag, picked up her putter and went to read her putt. Finally, she made the putt on the par-3 8th the challenging “Postage Stamp” hole.

And after all these months, Weaver is still her own caddy.

Caddies became optional when the LPGA Tour returned from its hiatus due to the coronavirus, and Weaver opted for a pushcart. 

“When the LPGA gave us the option of not using caddies, I pushed my own clubs and I’ve been doing it for four weeks and playing pretty well so I didn’t want to change anything,” Weaver said. “I’ve gotten comfortable with it.”

Weaver has used the gray three-wheeler in all three of the LPGA’s events after its restart. She has cashed in all three events. The cart was also part of the 26-year-old’s junior golf days. According to Golfweek, before the LPGA returned, Weaver wheeled out the cart from her parents’ garage in Columbus, Ohio. 

“It really dates back quite a while,” she told Golfweek. 

The cart has not been care-free. 

During Thursday’s first round, Weaver was in one of the bunkers on the par-3 14th. Her cart was in another. It has a break. But it was on a break. 

“Well, I was in the bunker, unfortunately, and so I had to chip out sideways,” she said. “My push cart was – my push cart is back here and all of a sudden it’s in a different bunker. Yeah, that’s like my worst nightmare come true. She’s OK. Just had to dust off a lot of sand. It’s all right.”

It hasn’t influenced her game in a negative way, though. Weaver has shot rounds of 71, 72, 71 for a 1-over par total. She is tied for fourth with three players, and she is five shots behind leader Sophia Popov after three rounds at a windy and winding Troon. 

“Yeah, so people have asked whether it’s a lot of work to just kind of like do all my own numbers and rake all my bunkers and push and everything,” Weaver said. “But it’s fine for me. It’s kind of just like playing junior golf, college golf again. It’s just kind of like back to the basics, so it’s kind of very different to be by myself, but normally, I usually take local caddies, so it’s usually I kind of have almost a stranger there with me normally, so it’s just me by myself. 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3hkcDSh