LIV Golf star Brooks Koepka found himself embroiled in controversy on day one of The Masters, despite having his name at the top of the leaderboard. Koepka was one 18 LIV Golf players making a controversial return to the PGA Tour for the opening major championship of the year.
Amid the drama heading into the tournament, the American made his way to Augusta National in fine form, having secured his second LIV title the week before in Orlando. And his form on the Saudi-backed series seemingly transpired into his opening round in Georgia.
As a result, Koepka proved to be one of the stars of day one, putting the saga of his LIV allegiances to one side to shoot an impressive seven-under-par 65 in round one. His impressive start sent him to the top of the leaderboard, joining co-leaders Viktor Hovland and Jon Rahm.
It was not all simple for the four-time major champion though. This came after Koepka found himself caught up in a ruling saga alongside his caddie Ricky Elliott and his playing partner Gary Woodland.
This comes after it appeared that Koepka’s caddie Elliott mouthed the word ‘five’ towards Woodland, following the former world No. 1’s shot into the 15th green with the use of his five iron.
Such communication is banned during competition, and carries a two-shot penalty for those at fault. An investigation was then carried out by tournament officials, however Koepka pleaded his and Little’s innocence and no further action was taken.
