Brooks Koepka’s caddie, Ricky Elliott, became the focus of a decision Thursday night at the Masters.
ESPN
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Just when we thought we had every scenario covered this Masters, along came the Rules of Golf.
Brooks Koepka got off to a good start with a 32 on his first nine Thursday at Augusta National. He stayed at four under in the middle of the fairway at the par-5 15th, when he chased a 5-iron to 231 yards.
“It’s played on a descent of about 12 meters,” Trevor Immelman said on the show.
That 5-iron came in great, as Koepka’s ball landed just right of the flag and rolled out to 24 feet. He would two-putt for an easy birdie and move to five under. Two more birdies helped him finish tied for the first-round lead. And then we asked him a question about the rules.
Tournament officials questioned Koepka’s caddy, Ricky Elliott, and others in the group about whether Elliott broke a rule immediately after Koepka’s impressive 5-iron. Video of the show was quickly shared on social media, showing Elliott apparently saying “five” to Gary Woodland’s caddy, just like at the 5-iron. You can check out the video for yourself below.
Why would this be a problem? Directly communicating which club a player used on a given shot would constitute advice and would constitute a violation of the Rule 10-2a. The rule states that during a round, a player cannot give advice to any participant in the competition who is playing on the course, and a player’s caddy is an extension of that player when it comes to violating a ruler. Elliott giving advice is treated the same as Koepka giving advice. Koepka would be docked at two shots.
However, Elliott and the various group members asked about this exchange all responded that it was not advice. THE Masters Tournament issued a short bulletin in response, saying: “Everyone involved was adamant that no advice had been given or sought. Therefore, the Committee determined that there was no violation of the Regulations.
Koepka visited the press center shortly after and was asked to explain what he knew about the situation.
“Yes, we looked at it when we got back,” Koepka said. “(Gary Woodland and his caddy) had no idea what we were hitting. They didn’t even know because… I know because GW asked me what we did when we left, when we were coming down. So that’s all I can give you.
Attention, world: Brooks Koepka in good health co-leads the Masters
Josh Berhow
So. Only the flames were a little late in this story. Enough that it became a topic on Live From the Masters on Golf Channel. Former player Paul McGinley explained the nuances of the rule and why sometimes it doesn’t really apply in reality.
“Well, it’s very obvious,” McGinley said. “Anyone who looks at these photos sees very clearly what is happening. It is astonishing that they denied it, because the video evidence exists. Look, I know Ricky very well. He’s a great guy. He’s a great guy. This is a common practice on the Tour. Whether you like it or not, this is common practice. This happens in every professional tournament in the world. It’s not always obvious, it’s so obvious.
“Players and caddies, who always adhere to the rules and treat the rules (as) very, very important – no matter how important the rules are – that is not considered a serious infraction among the players.”
For those who follow the rules at home, it was the second dispute which will burn on social networks on Thursday. While playing the 6th hole, Collin Morikawa had some problems with his ball holding its place after marking it. The greens at Augusta National are as smooth as any in the world, so this kind of thing can happen. It wasn’t until the video hit Twitter that questions quickly arose.
Morikawa went on to call it “fortunately pretty routine in our rule books,” but Nick Piastowski dove into the case for GOLF.com. You can read everything about this situation here.
