“It is a breach of the rules” – Chamblee and McGinley weigh-in on Koepka incident

The Masters Tournament committee might have brushed it off, but two of the game’s most respected analysts believe the Brooks Koepka rules drama on day one at Augusta National could have – and perhaps should have – been dealt with more seriously.

A clip widely shared on social media appeared to show Ricky Elliott, Koepka’s long-time looper, mouthing the word “five” in the direction of Gary Woodland’s caddie on the 15th hole.

Many took that to be Elliott telling Thomas Little what club Koepka had just hit.

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With Woodland yet to play, that would have been a breach of Rule 10.2(a) and punishable by a two-shot penalty.

After speaking to all parties after the round, the Masters Tournament committee released a statement saying that “all involved were adamant that no advice was given or requested” and that, consequently, “there was no breach of the Rules”.

The end of the matter? Far from it.

Whilst many took to social media to play down the matter – some suggesting that Elliott could have been relaying info to one of the on-course commentators, as is commonplace – others were less impressed.

Amongst them was Brandel Chamblee. Speaking on Golf Channel’s ‘Live from The Masters’ at the end of the first day’s play, he was clear in his conviction that the incident should not have gone unpunished.

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“Let’s just say we fast-forward to Sunday and [Woodland] beats Sam Burns by one,” he said. “Sam Burns wasn’t in that group. And let’s just say Gary Woodland was between clubs, but because his caddie knew clearly what Brooks Koepka had hit, he know clearly what club it was for Gary Woodland. I imagine those two hit it pretty similar distances.

“Maybe he was thinking 7 [iron] and he chose a 6-iron because he was a little bit in front of him. Maybe he would have hit it in the water, we just don’t know. But that is called protecting the integrity of the competition. That is called protecting the field. So to see something like that so obviously in violation of the Rules… I’m not saying Brooks Koepka was saying it’s okay but once, having seen it, knowing that the caddie is an extension of the player, you’d have to go, ‘That’s on me. My bad. I’ve got to take two shots.’ Because that’s what the rule says. That’s what clearly happened. And that is the right thing to do.”

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— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 7, 2023

Chamblee’s fellow Golf Channel analyst Paul McGinley agreed that the rules had been broken.

“It’s very obvious,” said the former Ryder Cup captain. “Anybody looking at those pictures, it’s very obvious what happens. It’s staggering that they’ve denied it, because the video evidence is there. Look, I know Ricky very well. He’s a smashing guy. He’s a great guy. This is common practice on Tour. Whether you like it or not, it’s common practice. It happens in every professional tournament around the world. It’s not obvious always, so blatant.

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“Players and caddies, who always adhere to the Rules and treat the Rules [as] very, very important, this is not considered a serious breach among players.

“If the Rules authorities want to stamp this out and really come down on this and make an example of it — obviously they’ve chosen not to do that. It looked very clear, the evidence is against them. If that’s the case, I think a lot of players in the field — if they’re putting a hand on hearts — there’d be a lot of penalties out there today, with what went down in other groups as well. We just happened to see it on camera.”

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor