Caddie injured, hospitalized after fall on Pebble Beach rocks
Matt Bettencourt spent Wednesday night in the hospital because of an issue with his wife's pregnancy. Everything turned out OK, but Sunday night, the Bettencourts were back in the hospital -- only this time it was for his wife's brother, Brian Rush.
Rush was caddying for his brother-in-law Sunday during the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am when Rush slipped on the rocks off Pebble Beach's 18th fairway. Rush hit his head twice on the rock, and suffered a concussion, a broken shoulder and a compound fracture in his forearm.
"I hit a tee shot that bounced into the hazard and there was three or four balls down on the tide," Bettencourt said. "The tide was out on the beach, so we made our way down the hill there and his left heel caught a piece of moss on the rock. And I tried to grab him, was a couple inches away and the next thing I know, I mean, he hit his head twice on the rock. He just bounced."
After about 25 minutes, Rush was put on a stretcher and transported to the hospital.
"We had to let a group play through us because they couldn't figure out how to get him back up the hill," Bettencourt said. "They had to put him on a board to get him up the hill."
Bettencourt grabbed a friend out of the gallery to carry his bag for the remaining nine holes. He shot 5-over 77 to finish 63rd before rushing to the hospital after his round.
"Getting to know this little hospital here, quite too well," Bettencourt said.
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