Brooks Kepka finished the first round with a share of the lead. Photo: GETTY/Andrew Redington
Brooks Kepka and his Northern Irish caddy, Ricky Elliott, are at the center of a rules dispute after the first round of the Masters.
Paul McGinley, former European Ryder Cup captain, said, that it's «staggering» when the referees didn't recognize Koepka and Elliott for an incident that saw the four-time major tournament winner take two penalties and turn his first 65 points into 67.
Koepka had 212 yards to go on par-5 on the 15th. The American made a fine second shot from 25 feet, which he scored twice for the birdie. That was not the problem.
Television footage that quickly went viral on social media appears to show Elliott, a popular character from Portrush, saying «five» to Gary Woodland's caddy. Did this Elliott tell his fellow salesman which club his employer chose for his second shot? If so, this would be in violation of rule 10.2a, which states that no player or caddie may give advice or seek advice from a competitor.
pic.twitter.com/lSG9H8pbkR
— Zane Ellis (@StretchZEllis) April 6, 2023
After the rounds were over, Kepka joined John Ram and Victor. Hovland leads by seven short and Woodland shoots by 68 points. Augusta released a bulletin stating that officials have asked the group for an explanation about the allegations of breaking the rules.
“All members were adamant that no advice was given or asked for. Consequently, the committee determined that there was no violation of the rules,” the bulletin says.
The rule states that directly reporting which club a player has used constitutes giving advice and will be a violation. And this also applies to the fact that in this case the player and/or his caddy is at fault and the player is punished.
Kopka stated after his round that the incident was not what it seemed. Photo: Shutterstock/John G Mabanglo «Players don't consider this a major infraction.»
Kopeka himself explained what happened in an interview after the round. . “Yes, we looked at it when we got back,” he said. “[Gary Woodland and his caddy] had no idea what we were in. They didn't even know because — I know this fact because GW asked me what we stumbled on leaving [15th] as we were going down. That's all I can give you.”
McGinley, who works as an expert for the Masters, later suggested that Cap should have been fined. «Well, it's very obvious,» he told the Golf Channel. “Anyone who looks at these photos, it's very obvious. It's amazing that they deny it because there is evidence.
“Look, I know Ricky very well. He's an amazing guy. He's a great guy. This is a common practice in Tours. Like it or not, this is common practice. This happens at every professional tournament around the world. It's not always obvious — it's so blatant.
«[For] players and caddies who always stick to the rules and treat them as very, very important… it's not considered a major infraction.»
This point of view was supported by Eddie. Pepperell, an English golfer who said that exchanges like those between Koepka and Woodland's caddy are common.
Yesterday's Koepka incident doesn't really matter. . Happens all the time.
Ironically, this happened to me on the very hole I played in 2019! Another caddy told mine that his player hit the iron.
So I hit the same club and put it in the water hazard.
— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) April 7, 2023
Koepka and Woodland are due out in the second round at 8:18 am, England's Danny Willett is also in the top three. Game time for Day 2 was pushed back 30 minutes due to forecast heavy rain and storms.
LIV Golf pantomime villain is just what the Masters needed
Tom Carey
Seeing Brooks Koepka ravage Augusta's green fairways on Masters opening day was a nightmare for PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan.
Since his victory at last week's LIV tournament in Orlando, Cap's genius has been alarming proof to members of Monahan that you can embezzle Saudi millions, play a three-day no-coupon competition, be accepted into the richest major company on the planet, and still compete in at the very end.
The thought of the Floridian winning the tournament and the rest of the "LIV 18" (actually only 17 after Kevin Na left) storm the 18th Lawn on a Sunday night — Monahan will deliver sleepless nights from now until then.
But for the rest of us, it may have come time to put up with the inconvenient truth is this: no matter how crude the scheme, no matter how boring/convoluted the format, and no matter how much damage it does or doesn't do to the game as a whole, this Masters is brought to life by the narrative of LIV vs PGA.
Stroppi Sergio Garcia can say all he wants that this is just a media obsession, but he is wrong. Norman himself said that LIV players will be especially active this week. “How can our players not be extra motivated?” the Australian asked. “Recently, there have been insults that LIV is not real golf, and this hypocrisy really annoys me. Rory McIlroy hinted that we were opening some kind of circus and that LIV was an exhibition.”
And that's great. This adds intrigue to what is happening.
Cap, if he can keep up the good work, is in many ways the perfect pantomime villain. The 32-year-old with the physique of an MMA fighter has a reputation for being stubborn, undaunted, unemotional. He often scolded the game of golf, telling interviewers that he wished he could be the best at just about any other sport. Most egregiously, last year he vowed to remain loyal to the PGA Tour, but went back on his promise.
He is also a sensational player at his best. And after two years away with knee injuries, Cap is starting to look like a Terminator again. His 65 shots in the first round could easily have been a few shots better. And he's clearly desperate to try again on the biggest stage.
showed that he was serious. Credit: Charlie Riedel/AP
The episode of Full Swing, focusing on his suffering at this time last year, was akin to watching an athlete go through a full blown existential crisis as he struggled with his game and his brain. His wife, the former Miss Georgia Teen USA, was trying to get his attention elsewhere, and all he could think about was his swing.
«I'm going back to the first major tournament that I ever won. «, he says in this episode. «I'd give back every dollar I've ever made just to have that feeling again for another hour.»
He may well fulfill his wish. Admittedly, we've only had one round so far, but this is a guy who has dominated the game at his best. A man who has been 82 under par in major championships since 2015, according to leading golf statistician Justin Ray. That's 11 shots better than any other player. And this is despite the fact that in 2021-2022 we played majors in total by 21 more than the nominal value. The digger will not be easy to swing.
All set for an intriguing three days. Will John Rahm or Scotty Sheffler close The Terminator? Can McIlroy stand up for the honor of the PGA? We'll find out soon.
Monahan will no doubt stick needles into Cap's voodoo doll every night.
August's patrons may also continue to be ambivalent about the LIV rebels (Sahit Tigala, 25- the year-old Californian, who ranked 30th in the world and played his first Masters tournament, reportedly got more applause than former winner Patrick Reed when they were introduced on the first court on Thursday). But Kopka wouldn't care. And the viewers too. All this adds drama.
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