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Paul Casey finished in a tie for third in the WGC-Mexico Championship to continue his impressive start to 2019 – despite his caddie making a hilarious blunder in the midst of the event.

After playing the first three holes of his third round in three-under, Casey and John ‘Long Socks’ McLaren noticed that something wasn’t quite right as they were discussing how to approach the green at the 13th, Casey’s fourth hole of the day.

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It soon emerged that McLaren had the wrong info and pin placements… and had instead taken the positions for the Puerto Rico Open which taking place opposite the WGC-Mexico Championship.

Fortunately for him, Casey saw the funny side and, once word got out, poor McLaren found himself the butt of the jokes on social media.

Paul Casey And John Mc Laren

“He’s got so much abuse for that,” laughed Casey after his final round at Club de Golf Chapultepec. “Social media has torn him to pieces. Johnny is one of the best caddies on tour, so any time you can kind of get one up on him or throw him under the bus, guys want to do it.

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“It wasn’t until the 13th where he said, ‘You need to land it on about 17.’  And I said, ‘Well, the pin’s only 13 on the green.’ He suddenly looked in his book and he realised every single pin that he had written down in his book was wrong, and he couldn’t figure out why.

“Eventually, we figured out it was because of the Puerto Rico pins that he pulled off the internet the night before. For the only time in his life, he didn’t double-check them in the morning sitting in the breakfast room.

“It was brilliant. Johnny’s amazing.”


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Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor

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