Brooks Koepka-Gary Woodland Masters rules violation through other caddies’ eyes: ‘They’re both guilty’

Several veteran caddies said it was a clear violation of Rule 10-2a, and should’ve resulted in a two-stroke penalty.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Brooks Koepka and Gary Woodland were shown video after their round on Friday by the Masters Tournament Committee. It marked the second time that a review of a potential rules violation on the 15th hole at Augusta National during Thursday’s first round was necessary.

Originally, the investigation focused on whether Koepka’s caddie, Ricky Elliott, had verbally given advice, which isn’t allowed in the Rules of Golf, pertaining to what club Koepka had used on his second shot at the par 5 to Woodland’s caddie, Brennan “Butchy” Little. On the second occasion, the focus was on whether Koepka had made a hand signal.

“Today was just about my, I guess, my hand and my glove,” said Koepka, who shot 67 to take the clubhouse lead at 12-under 132. “I don’t know if you’re supposed to take your glove off with your fist closed or what now.”

It had become enough of a point of contention on social media that Woodland said that Masters officials told them at scoring that “it was taking a big life.”

After the round Friday, Woodland gave his version of what happened on Thursday.

“At the end of the day, Brooks hit his shot on 15. I asked Butchy if he saw what he hit. He said no. Luckily for us because Brooks ended up hitting 5-iron. I hit 5-iron. I asked Butchy what the club was, and he said it’s a choked-up perfect 5,” Woodland said. “I hit my shot. When we were walking down, I asked Brooks what he hit, and he said 5. If I would have known that, I probably would have hit 6-iron, and I would have hit 6-iron in the middle of the water. Luckily for me, I didn’t know what he hit. That’s the end of it.”

Brooks Koepka and his caddie, Ricky Elliot, walk the 16th hole during the first round of The Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, on April 6, 2023.

Pga Masters Tournament First Round

When Koepka was asked what his caddie told the committee, he said, “I think what they said was they were signaling to somebody else or he was signaling to somebody of what it was. It wasn’t Butchy. Because they asked us what we hit walking down the fairway, so they had no idea.”

He added: “I’m taking my glove off. The last thing I’m going to do is give it to Gary Woodland, the U.S. Open champ. And the funny part about it is I think if he would have known we were hitting five, he would have hit six because I don’t think Gary is that short and he’s 10 in front of me, 12 in front of me.”

On the par-5 15th hole during the first round, Koepka and Woodland hit their tee shots to the same general area with Koepka about 10 yards shorter. Video of the hole showed Koepka hit his second and hand his club back to Elliot. As he stuck the club back in the bag and grabbed Koepka’s putter, Elliot appeared to mouth “five” in the direction of Woodland’s caddie – Brennan Little – not once but twice before Woodland hit his second shot.

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“Wow, so that’s what professional golf has gotten into now, lip reading?” said caddie Andy Martinez, who has caddied on the PGA Tour for more than 50 years, most notably for Johnny Miller and most recently a couple PGA Tour Champions events this season for Michael Allen. “One of my rules is I don’t look in another guy’s bag. My thinking is if you have all the right numbers and you’ve got your player out there and you need help from the other guy, that’s pathetic. I’ve seen guys like that over the year. They almost expect you to tip them off but not from me.”

Several veteran caddies, who asked for anonymity because they still have to potentially walk with Koepka and Woodland, said it was a clear violation of Rule 10-2a, and should’ve resulted in a two-stroke penalty.

“It seemed pretty blatant. I think all they had to do was ask Brooks one question: What club did you hit? And that would’ve said all that needs to be said,” said a caddie for a current exempt Tour pro. “That stuff happens but it doesn’t happen vocally. You can go look in the bag and not touch anything and get a pretty good idea. Sometimes, the guys flash fingers to the TV people and you just watch for that. It happens. When he’s vocal like that, that’s a no-no, that’s a violation. I think they both should get dinged. They’re both guilty.”

Another longtime caddie who has been on the bag for more than 10 victories on the Tour said, “I love Ricky to death, I’m struggling with how to put this but it looked awfully suspicious to me … It’s common but you don’t do it like that. Typically, you stand back from the bag and let a caddie look or while you’re cleaning the bottom of the club you hold the club so they get a look. It’s just an unfortunate situation what happened yesterday and what it could mean.”

The longtime caddie said that he spoke to a PGA Tour rules official about Elliott and Koepka’s actions on 15 on Thursday evening, and said the official was incensed and thought Koepka should be penalized, but his hands are tied as the Masters doesn’t fall under its jurisdiction.

The Masters Tournament Committee released the following notice after the completion of play on Thursday: “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.”

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2023 Masters: Brooks Koepka’s caddie absolved of rules violation by Masters Tournament Committee. Here’s why

When asked to explain what happened during his post-round press conference, Koepka defended his caddie.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Brooks Koepka’s opening-round 65 on Thursday at Augusta National Golf Club and share of the lead will stand after the Masters Tournament Committee ruled that his caddie, Ricky Elliott didn’t violate Rule 10-2a.

On the par-5 15th hole, Koepka and Gary Woodland hit their tee shots to the same general area, but Koepka was away. Video of the hole showed Koepka hit his second and hand his club back Elliott. As he stuck the club back in the bag and grab Koepka’s putter, Elliott appeared to say “five” in the direction of Woodland’s caddie – Brennan Little – before Woodland hit his second shot.

Did he reveal to Woodland’s caddie that Koepka had hit a 5-iron? The video evidence sure seems to indicate a breach of the rules by Elliott, who has been on the bag for all four of Koepka’s major championship wins and followed his boss to LIV Golf last summer.

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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

If Koepka’s caddie, who is considered an extension of his player, was found in violation of the rule, Koepka’s 65 would have been turned into a 67. The Masters Tournament Committee released the following notice after the completion of play: “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.”

“It’s staggering that they denied it because the video evidence is there,” said Golf Channel’s Paul McGinley on the network’s post-round “Live From” show, which zoomed in on the club and revealed clear as day that it was a 5-iron.

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McGinley also tabbed it common practice for caddies to share club information, and not a serious breach among the players.

When asked to explain what happened during his post-round press conference, Koepka defended his caddie. “Yeah, we looked at it when we got back in. GW [Gary Woodland] and Butchie [Brennan 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.”

Had Woodland or his caddie been deemed to have asked for the information, Woodland, who shot 68, would have received a two-stroke penalty, too.

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Photos: Caddies and their flags from the 18th hole after winning a tournament

Every week on virtually every tour, the winning caddie grabs the flag on 18.

It has become a tradition unlike any other.

Every week on virtually every tour, the winning caddie grabs the flag on 18. It has become the caddie’s trophy, as much of a ritual as players removing their hats and shaking hands after the round. But what is the origin of this tradition and who started it? No one seems to know.

“I don’t know how it happened,” says Ted Scott, who earned his third Masters flag working on the bag of Scottie Scheffler in 2022 to go with the previous two he pocketed with Bubba Watson in 2012 and 2014. “But it’s a cool tradition, a huge reward and a special thing. Whoever started it, I’m grateful for it.”

Golfweek did some digging, hoping to get to the bottom of this unsolved mystery, and along the way the stories we heard about caddies and flags were too good not to share.

Unsolved mystery: How did the flag at 18 become the caddie trophy?

It has become a tradition unlike any other. Every week on virtually every tour, the winning caddie grabs the flag on 18.

No caddie has enjoyed his winning flag quite like Ted Scott, who posted a video of himself with the 18th-hole flag and pole from this April’s Masters on his tractor, motorcycle and while brushing his teeth among other random things.

Jim “Bones” Mackay was on the bag for his sixth major at the PGA Championship in May, but this flag likely means the most to him and will get top-shelf status. Then there was England’s Billy Foster, who finally tasted victory at a major after 40 years on the bag and kissed the flag in the lower right corner as Matt Fitzpatrick was victorious at the U.S. Open in June. New Zealand’s Sam Pinfold made off with both a Players Championship and British Open flag this year working for Aussie Cameron Smith. And who can forget Japan’s Shota Hayafuji’s beautiful gesture: removing his hat and bowing his head after claiming the flag at Augusta National last April following Hideki Matsuyama’s triumph. From all four corners of the globe, caddies know the routine.

“As a youngster watching golf tournaments on TV in Japan, I saw that it is a tradition for caddies to take home the 18th-green flag,” Hayafuji says. “My heart was full of gratitude, and it was the natural thing for me to bow and show respect for the Masters.”

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CcRSQigMlKL/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

It has become a tradition unlike any other. Every week on virtually every tour, the winning caddie grabs the flag on 18. It has become the caddie’s trophy, as much of a ritual as players removing their hats and shaking hands after the round. But what is the origin of this tradition and who started it? No one seems to know.

“I don’t know how it happened,” says Scott, who earned his third Masters flag working on the bag of Scottie Scheffler to go with the previous two he pocketed with Bubba Watson in 2012 and 2014. “But it’s a cool tradition, a huge reward and a special thing. Whoever started it, I’m grateful for it.”

Golfweek did some digging, hoping to get to the bottom of this unsolved mystery, and along the way the stories we heard about caddies and flags were too good not to share.

Brooks Koepka and Jena Sims’ Christmas card puts a funny twist on 2020

Former No. 1 Brooks Koepka and his model/actress/influencer girlfriend Jena Sims are not typically the type to air their dirty laundry.

Former World No. 1 Brooks Koepka and his model/actress/social influencer girlfriend Jena Sims are not typically the type to air their dirty laundry.

To wrap up a bizarre and peculiar year, however, they made an exception.

The Christmas card the two sent to friends and family was spotlighted in a recent Instagram post by photographer Shaye Babb, who said in the post she was “in love with this year’s Christmas card I shot for @jenasims & @bkoepka.”

Injuries to Koepka’s hip and knee didn’t heal properly and prevented him from being anything close to the player who won four majors between the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills and the 2019 PGA Championship at Bethpage Black.

Koepka made a valiant effort at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational and the PGA Championship to claim a victory, but he finished the season winless in 2020. Asked to sum up out how he would describe his golf year, Koepka took the high road.

“I don’t know if I could say that without getting fined,” he said. “Pretty bad.”

Still, he and Sims haven’t lost their playful edge, as witnessed in this pretty hilarious Instagram Reels post from earlier this month, one that also features Koepka’s caddie and longtime friend Ricky Elliott.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIgkmJQjU43/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

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