Brooks Koepka reveals top secret after being accused of 'breaking rule' at The Masters
Brooks Koepka makes shock confession when asked to clear up last year's controversial incident with Gary Woodland at The Masters.
Brooks Koepka would appear to have let slip a professional golf secret - while stirring the pot some more - when asked to clear up last year's controversial incident with playing partner Gary Woodland at The Masters.
TV footage during the first round of the 2023 Masters appeared to show Koepka's caddie Ricky Elliott say the word 'five' to Woodland's caddie Brennan Little on the par-5 15th hole.
Not once, but twice!
This was taken as 'five' for '5-iron', which was indeed the club of choice for Koepka.
As Koepka was removing his glove, he also appeared to signal 'five' with his fingers.
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So much of the LIV players being treated poorly by #TheMasters
First round leader Brooks Koepka should have been penalized 2 shots for his caddie giving advice to a competitor. The video evidence couldn’t be more clear, but the players lied, so @TheMasters decided no penalty. pic.twitter.com/y8UPG2gDs2— John Ziegler (@Zigmanfreud) April 6, 2023
It is against the rules of golf for a player or caddie to disclose any information such as which club was used to hit a shot.
According to Rule 10-2a, during a round a player must not:
- Give advice to anyone in the competition who is playing on the course
- Ask anyone for advice, other than the player’s caddie, or
- Touch another player’s equipment to learn information that would be advice if given by or asked of the other player
- Penalty for breach of rule: two strokes
The Masters Tournament Committee reviewed all footage of the incident and cleared Koepka and his caddie of any wrongdoing.
That particular decision left Sky Sports Golf and Golf Channel analyst Paul McGinley in a state of shock.
"It’s very obvious… it’s staggering that they’ve denied it because the evidence is there," former European Ryder Cup captain McGinley said at the time.
Fast forward to the 2024 Masters, and Koepka is still fielding questions about last year's controversial incident with Woodland.
Only Koepka's response has stirred the pot some more.
In the eyes of the five-time major champion, exchanging information on the course is a regular occurrence in 2024.
Koepka said:
"I mean, everybody's exchanging information all day long. Looking in guys' bags, caddies are signaling all day long. But who knew, I think I was just foreshadowing what was going to happen."
The former World No.1 is going in search of his first Green Jacket at The Masters this week.
Koepka finished T2 at last year's Masters behind Jon Rahm, shortly before going on to capture his fifth career major at the US PGA.
He also finished T2 at The Masters behind Tiger Woods in 2019.
Koepka is priced up at odds of 18/1 to win The Masters.
What do you make of Koepka's revelation? Are you shocked or have you seen this happen a lot on Tour? Share your thoughts and comments over on the GolfMagic social media channels.
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