Patrick Reed’s caddie Kessler Karain banned from Sunday singles after altercation with fan

Patrick Reed’s caddie Kessler Karain has been banned from Sunday’s singles matches at Royal Melbourne after a physical altercation involving a fan. The PGA Tour, which runs the Presidents Cup, announced the suspension in a statement following Saturday afternoon’s session.

“Following an incident that took place on Saturday at the Presidents Cup involving Kessler Karain and a spectator, Karain will not return to caddie for Sunday’s final-round singles matches. We will have no further comment at this time,” the statement read.

Reed issued his own statement and didn’t contest the ruling.

“I respect the Tour’s decision. We are all focused on winning the Presidents Cup tomorrow,” he said. The U.S. team trails the Internationals 10-8.

The incident came after Reed and partner Webb Simpson lost 5&3 to Hideki Matsuyama and C.T. Pan, dropping to 0-3 for the week. Karain released a statement to ESPN and Barstool Sports after the round explaining that he was fed up with the comments he’d been hearing from the crowd and shoved one mouthy fan. You can see that complete statement below:

Patrick Reed’s caddie and brother-in-law, Kessler Karain, has released a statement to @foreplaypod regarding an altercation with a Presidents Cup fan. pic.twitter.com/BpCtPmNjRN

— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) December 14, 2019

In addition to Reed’s caddie, Karain is also his brother-in-law and has been on the bag since 2014, including for six of Reed’s seven PGA Tour wins. He is likely in violation of the PGA Tour’s caddie code, which reads in part: “Caddies shall not engage in conduct unbecoming a professional caddie, as determined in the sole discretion of the PGA Tour.”

There was some speculation that Reed would bring in his wife (and former caddie) Justine for Sunday’s match, but Golf Channel reported that swing coach Kevin Kirk will be on the bag instead.

Reed tees off in the third singles match of the day against C.T. Pan.