'A Penalty That Seems to Have Been Disregarded': Chatter Continues on Masters Ruling With Brooks Koepka and Caddie
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The controversy surrounding whether or not Brooks Koepka’s caddie, Ricky Elliott, was in violation of Rule 10-2a concerning giving advice to a competitor is likely to now die down in the wake of Jon Rahm’s victory.
Had Koepka won, you can bet that incident would have remained a talking point, especially because there has been considerable behind-the-scenes chatter that the issue was not handled properly by Augusta National’s rules committee.
Rules officials from around the world are summoned to the Masters to help administer the rules, allowing for roving officials as well as officials who are at each hole. But the final decision rests with the green jackets, and in this case, it appears they overruled those who were directly involved.
Video and photos showed Elliott verbally saying that Koepka had hit a 5-iron on the 15th hole of the first round. It also showed Koepka possibly flashing five fingers, another signal. The question is if they were giving that information to Brendan “Butchy" Little, Gary Woodland’s caddie.
Caddies often give or flash such information to television personnel so that it can be relayed to the broadcast team for their use. To do so with another player or caddie is in violation of the rule on advice. It's a two-stroke penalty.
“It’s a penalty that seems to have been disregarded," said one rules official, who wished not to be identified and who was not working at the Masters.
Another rules official who also was not at the Masters told Sports Illustrated: “When did the Masters start allowing TV spotters inside the ropes? They invite some very good rules people but they seem to more concerned about being invited back more than taking a position that is different than the competition committee chairman."
One source told Sports Illustrated that there was pushback from on-site rules officials that was overruled. The Masters issued a statement on Thursday saying there was no violation, but according to both Koepka and Woodland, they were asked about it again after Friday’s round. Augusta National issued no further statement.
“It was an infraction," said one longtime caddie who was not part of the group. “Very plain and simple and straightforward. There was no gray area ... in my mind it’s tainted. Whether or not it 'happens every day' is irrelevant. They broke a rule. They should have taken the two (shots) and moved on. To me, it was blatant. And almost every caddie I’ve spoken to feels the same way.
“Love Ricky to death, one of my favorite people, but that was bad."
It is common practice for players and caddies to look in another bag to see what club is missing so they know what the player is using. Also, a caddie will sometimes clean the club as to allow it to be seen.
“But you do not signal another player or caddie," the longtime caddie said. “You do not mouth or say aloud to another player or caddie."
While this has been portrayed in some places as a “LIV Golf thing" because of Koepka’s affiliation with the league, it is also important to note that Woodland and his caddie were also involved and could have been penalized had they been deemed to be seeking the advice. Or had they done the same thing elsewhere on the course.
Why is it a big deal? What does Koepka gain from it? The fear is that if he or his caddie was passing on information, perhaps it was a favor to be returned or had happened earlier. And there is also the notion of protecting the field. Helping another player is potentially hurting someone else in the competition.
And as Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee said: “It’s a rule. Why have a rule if you are not going to enforce it?"
While such a penalty is rare, it does happen. A prominent example is what occurred to Mark Wilson at the 2007 Honda Classic. He won the tournament despite calling a two-shot penalty on himself because his caddie gave advice to a fellow competitor. It was a similar situation: his caddie told another player’s caddie what club Wilson hit off a tee during the second round. He eventually won the event in a playoff.