A video of Collin Morikawa marking and replacing his ball on the 6th hole during The Masters opening round sent social media wild on Thursday.
The clip showed the two-time Major champion appearing to move his marker when replacing his ball on the green, with the clip quickly gaining hundreds of thousands of views and plenty of comments alleging foul play.
Morikawa was seen picking his ball up and delicately replacing it on the slippery and sloping Augusta National green before moving his marker ever-so-slightly forward.
A later video showed the full process and it appeared that his ball rolled backwards as he addressed it and he was merely replacing it back to where it originally was. Paul McGinley confirmed on Sky Sports that the incident had been looked at and Morikawa was given the all clear.
Watch the clips:
A much clearer look at what happened on 6 for Morikawa at #themasters pic.twitter.com/ll0rzbB2ZHApril 6, 2023
🚨 Potential rules violation by Collin Morikawa 👀 #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/ggN4KmLTvCApril 6, 2023
If Morikawa was deemed to have not replaced his ball to the exact spot, he would have received a two stroke penalty under Rule 14: Procedures for Ball: Marking, Lifting and Cleaning; Replacing on Spot; Dropping in Relief Area; Playing from Wrong Place.
Rule 13.1d also states if a ball moves on the putting green then it "must always be replaced on its original spot, regardless of what caused it to move. The ball must be played from its new spot only if the ball had not been lifted and replaced before it moved."
Went back and watched this:As he addressed his ball on 6, and it looked like the ball moved and rolled back a few inches. This looks like it was moving it back to its original position. https://t.co/QZWXjdOqciApril 6, 2023
🤨 Collin Morikawa might be in a bit of trouble...#TheMasters pic.twitter.com/gM9QDvjoQ0April 6, 2023
Collin Morikawa moves his ball back to the original position #Sportsmanship pic.twitter.com/liq6HKSO6tApril 6, 2023
