AUGUSTA, Ga. — The key parties involved in what appeared on video to be a rules breach on the part of Brooks Koepka’s caddie and playing partner Gary Woodland and his caddie in Thursday’s opening round of the Masters were brushed aside on Friday — even as a new question about the interaction emerged.
After their second round on Friday, Koepka, Woodland and Koepka’s caddie, Ricky Elliott, all said there was no rules violation, that there was no intend to aid a fellow player.
The incident in question occurred on the 15th hole Thursday when, after Koepka hit his 5-iron approach shot, Elliott flashed five fingers in the direction of Woodland’s caddie, Brennan Little.
As they did after Thursday’s round, Masters officials brought Koepka and Woodland into a room, looked at video and went over it again on Friday. Because in the video, as Koepka took his glove off after hitting the 5-iron, it looked like he flashed a “five’’ with his hand.
“We were just … when I finished today’s round, (we) were brought in,’’ Koepka, who was 12-under and four shots clear of the field on Friday afternoon, said.
“Today was just about my hand and my glove. I don’t know if you’re supposed to take your glove off with your fist closed or what now.
“The last thing I’m going to do is give (the club selection) to Gary Woodland, the (2019) 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 (yards) in front of me.’’
Rule 10.2a states that golfers aren’t allowed to give or ask other golfers for advice. The penalty for both parties calls for two strokes.
After the round on Thursday, Masters officials showed the video to the players and their caddies and asked them about it and were satisfied that there was no breach.
Elliott, sitting in a cart that was about to whisk him away from the front of Augusta National’s clubhouse Friday after Koepka’s round, was asked by The Post if he said the word “five” to Little in the 15th fairway on Thursday after Koepka hit the green with a 5-iron and before Woodland played his approach.
“No, it was just a completely different situation,” Elliott said. “No comment, it’s all sorted.”
Asked if he felt he had fielded unfair criticism over the incident, Elliott said, “Yes, I do.”
“Brooks hit his shot on 15. I asked ‘Butchy’ (Little) if he saw what he hit (and) he said, ‘No,’’’ Woodland said Friday.
“When we were walking down (the fairway), I asked Brooks what he hit, and he said ‘five.’ 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.’’
Said Woodland about the Friday inquiry: “They told us it was getting to be a big deal. They told us inside it was taking a big life. At the end of the day, I didn’t hear anything or I didn’t see anything. My caddie didn’t hear anything or see anything either.
“That’s why they brought us in and showed us all the angles. At the end of the day, ‘Butchy’ didn’t see anything or hear anything. That’s where we left it.’’
— With Ian O’Connor