A caddie usually spends his working days helping and watching his player chase trophies. Matt Hutchins, who caddies at Sand Valley Resort this week, spent his time chasing one himself at the U.S. Mid-Amateur, on the same course where he works. On Tuesday, he led his round of 16 match by three holes, just four holes away from the win, when a jump to follow a ball left him with seven holes to play on a leg that would barely hold him.

Hutchins described the moment to Golf Channel after the match. “I could barely walk. It just felt like someone threw a ball off the back of my cart.”

For context, Hutchins is 29 years old and has caddied at Sand Valley for almost six years. The mid-amateur is the USGA’s national championship for players 25 and older, and champions can earn Masters and U.S. Open berths. Notably, this 45th edition was the first USGA championship held at the resort, played on its Lido course. Hutchins had earned his spot at a qualifier at nearby Lake Arrowhead in August on his third attempt. Naturally, a lot was at stake here.

As for the trouble, it started on the 11th hole when Hutchins led Jordan Russell by three holes. He had jumped to see where his ball had finished on the green, but his left calf gave out. Notably, he had gone six years without an injury from playing and carrying, and now he had to finish a match on a 7,219-yard course with a bad left leg. The greens alone average more than 12,000 square feet.

Reasonably, Hutchins took a medical timeout, and a member who works in physical therapy treated the calf on the spot. He then went on to lose three of his next five holes but won the 13th hole, closing out a one-up victory. What makes it even more impressive is that it was his third match of the day after a morning win over Ben Greve. Hutchins is now set to face Mikel Martinson on Wednesday.

Similarly, Hutchins is also a former professional. A Maine native, he won the 2016 Maine Amateur by six shots at 19 and played at Chico State and then at UCLA. He also turned pro in 2018. He made ten cuts in 21 starts on the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica and two Korn Ferry events in 2020. However, he soon quit that year, saying the weekly grind had stopped being fun, and later regained his amateur status.

That being said, with Hutchins, one more pro golfer pushed through a leg injury at a USGA championship, and the best-known case belongs to Tiger Woods.

Tiger Woods Won U.S. Open on Torn ACL

Woods had arrived at Torrey Pines two months after knee surgery and had not walked 18 holes since the Masters. Moreover, doctors had asked him to spend three weeks before the tournament on crutches. When asked about his situation on Golf Digest, he said,

“I am playing and I am winning the U.S. Open.”

And like his classic nature, he did. Woods beat Rocco Mediate in a Monday playoff that went 19 holes, wincing and doubling over along the way. Two days later, he revealed that he had played on a ruptured ACL and a double stress fracture in his left tibia. The win, however, was his 14th major, and he missed the rest of the 2008 season.

For now, Sand Valley, where Hutchins’ work has three more USGA championships booked through 2034, including the 2030 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur. If we see another tough match on the course, only time will tell.