After a stellar round on Thursday, Lucas Herbert showcased another masterclass on Friday, breaking a 43-year-old record. He lit up Royal Birkdale by matching Denis Durnian’s lowest-ever front nine in The Open history with a 28. Herbert also equaled the lowest round ever recorded in a men’s major with an 8-under-par 62, comfortably holding onto his place at the top of the leaderboard. However, the LIV Golf star soon found himself in deep water after his caddie, Nick Pugh, was caught using a rangefinder. 

“Something came to our attention not long ago. After Lucas Herbert hit, his caddie pulled out a rangefinder and was looking through it,” reported Sky Sports commentator Rich Beem, per Golf Monthly.

The incident took place on the 14th tee when Pugh pulled out a rangefinder. While the PGA Tour allows the use of the device under strict limitations, The Open Championship prohibits its use. Under the tournament’s rules, players cannot get distance information using a distance-measuring device. Fellow commentator Andrew Coltart was quick to highlight this information.

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“I have the rules out here in front of me on the rules sheet. Rule 10 prohibits the use of distance-measuring devices. So we will need to clear something up very shortly.”

Because of this violation, the Australian quickly found himself face-to-face with a potential two-shot penalty. However, fortunately for Herbert, things weren’t as they had seemed. Coltart came back with an update on the matter, which quickly cleared Herbert of receiving the penalty and shed light on what had actually happened.  

“To give you an update, the R&A ensures that batteries are removed, so they can only be used as a binocular thing rather than a measuring device,” Coltart said. 

So, what was Pugh doing with the distance-measuring device? He was using the optical device to see whether the ball had gone into the bunker. Instead of measuring the tee shot, Herbert had just made. When the matter was done and dusted, the 30-year-old closed out the round with 9-under-par to remain at the top. 

Meanwhile, The Athletic spoke with Herbert’s caddie, who explained LIV Golf allows the use of rangefinders, though he knew The Open didn’t. However, he recalled another caddie telling him he could carry a rangefinder at the U.S. Open for its magnification feature, provided he had removed the batteries.

Upon arriving at Royal Birkdale, Pugh checked with the R&A, and the R&A confirmed it. Still seeking reassurance, he verified it again before the round and noticed that everyone else in the group was also carrying rangefinders without batteries.

So far, there are no recorded instances of a player or caddie being penalized for carrying distance-measuring devices with their batteries removed, which makes this situation unusual.