"My thought was, 'I want to leave this place like a man,' and I think I did."
Golf fans across the country watched in horror this week as an error by a caddie cost a golfer a chance at the U.S. Amateur championship.
It was the 18th hole of a match between Segundo Oliva Pinto and Tyler Strafaci, all square, when Pinto found the sand at Bandon Dunes in Oregon. As Pinto watched another shot, his caddie Brant Brewer went into the bunker and, using his hands, checked the sand. It was a violation — one that was caught on video — and cost Pinto not only the hole but the match.
That night, Pinto told ESPN that he called up Brewer … and forgave him for the error.
“He was in tears, heartbroken about what happened,” Pinto told ESPN on Friday. “I posted a picture on my Instagram saying it’s not his fault, it could happen to anyone. He’s not used to playing on the big stage in competitions, so he didn’t know the rules.”
Pinto admitted that he himself was “heartbroken” as well, and felt that he had a chance to win the entire tournament had he stayed in it. Yet, he was keeping his head high.
“I told him that if I can forgive him, everyone can forgive him,” Pinto said to ESPN.
“My thought was, ‘I want to leave this place like a man,’ and I think I did,” Pinto said. “There’s always something positive about the negative.”
Pinto, a native of Argentina, plays college golf for the University of Arkansas.
