It wouldn’t be the Masters without a rules controversy – though the Twitter “experts” could use a mulligan on this one.
Video emerged of two-time major winner Collin Morikawa appearing to move his ball closer to the sixth hole at Augusta National as he was lining up for a putt, then moving his ball marker up behind the ball.
Many on Twitter quickly accused Morikawa of cheating, trying to get a more favorable distance for his putt (which he missed, and made par on the hole).
However, as often ends up being the case on Twitter, when context was added to the scene it ended up being completely legal.
Morikawa is seen in a longer video informing his playing partners that his ball had moved, and that he placed the coin down at a random place on the green before moving the ball back to where it should have been.
Morikawa called it “pretty routine” and “pretty standard” in his post-round press conference — and the video shows him checking with his playing partner to confirm he was following proper protocols.
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Seemingly responding to the criticism he initially received, Morikawa tweeted his explanation of the scene after completing his round on Thursday.
“Here’s the full video…Ball moved as I addressed it, so I threw the coin down in no specific place, replaced the ball to the original spot and then moved my marker to the original spot (from where I threw it). I play by the rules, I promise,” Morikawa wrote.
Morikawa, currently ranked No. 12 in the world by the Official World Golf Rankings, finished the day at 3-under, good for a tie for 13th place in the tournament with Justin Rose, Tony Finau, and Jordan Spieth.
His best finish at the Masters came last year when he placed fifth.
