Brooks Koepka shot his lowest round at the Masters Tournament on Thursday, but it wasn’t without a bit of controversy.
Koepka made birdie on the par-5 15th, one of eight birdies in a 7-under 65. After hitting the green in two with an iron, Koepka’s caddie, Ricky Elliott, appeared to mouth “five” twice to playing competitor Gary Woodland’s caddie, Brennan Little.
(You can view video of the incident on Masters.com’s scorecard highlights by clicking here and going to Koepka’s second shot on the 15th hole.)
Koepka was asked by reporters after his round if the situation had been addressed by Augusta National officials.
“Yeah, we looked at it when we got back in,” Koepka said. “GW (Woodland) and Butchie (Little) had no idea what we were hitting; they didn’t even know because – I know that fact, because GW asked me what we hit walking off, when we were walking down. So that’s all I can give you.”
I spoke with @BKoepka who told me he had a discussion with an official from the Rules Committee about a possible infraction on the 15th hole. Ultimately, there was no penalty.
— Todd Lewis (@ToddLewisGC) April 6, 2023
No penalty was assessed and Augusta National released an official statement, saying: “Following the completion of Brooks Koepka’s round, the Committee questioned his caddie and others in the group about a possible incident on No. 15. All involved were adamant that no advice was given or requested. Consequently, the Committee determined that there was no breach of the Rules.”
