Sei Young Kim's Caddie Removed from 2015 U.S. Women's Open

Talented LPGA rookie Sei Young Kim will be without her usual caddie for this week's U.S. Women's Open, as Paul Fusco was ejected from the tournament for taking photos of the course setup before golfers and caddies were allowed to see them.

According to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com), Fusco was removed from Kim's bag for the tournament at Lancaster Country Club in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, since it was determined that he was trying to gain a competitive advantage.

Brendan Prunty of the New York Times provided more detail on the violation, saying Fusco was "escorted off the grounds of Lancaster Country Club on Tuesday when he was discovered in the United States Golf Association championship office taking a cellphone photo of what a spokeswoman called 'an internal course prep document.'"

USGA vice president Diana Murphy made a statement on Fusco's rule violation, per Prunty:

"

Golf is a game of honor and integrity. And unfortunately, we found a caddie who was attempting to get some information that would benefit his player and not the whole field. And there was just no question in our mind that we needed to prevent that from happening to protect the total field this week.

"

Steve Elling of Golfblot.com weighed in on Fusco's violation after the announcement of his dismissal:

Kim, who has two wins this season, entered the event as a top contender. That status is in question to some degree since a caddie change on such short notice could throw her off her game.

According to Randall Mell of GolfChannel.com, the 22-year-old native of South Korea had a negative reaction to the USGA's decision:

With Fusco out of the fold for the U.S. Women's Open, Kim must now turn to Steve Bybee as her replacement caddie, per Prunty.

Kim is undoubtedly one of the best young players on the LPGA tour, but it isn't a stretch to suggest that Fusco has been a significant part of her success thus far considering his experience as a caddie.

Losing his services for this tournament presents a major obstacle she must overcome.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.