Collin Morikawa hit with 2-stroke penalty for breaking golf rules at Hero World Challenge after Matt Fitzpatrick’ intervention

Collin Morikawa was given a two-stroke penalty after his caddie wrote down some numbers to help him line a putt on the third round of the Hero World Challenge.

Collin Morikawa hit with 2-stroke penalty for breaking golf rules at Hero World Challenge after Matt Fitzpatrick’ intervention

Collin Morikawa {L) and Matt Fitzpatrick (R) [Pic Credit: Imago/AP]

As the Hero World Challenge 2023 rolled on, there was some drama on the greens during the third round. 26-year-old golfer Collin Morikawa was penalized for breaking golf rules and was given a two-stroke penalty for it. This all happened after the intervention of Matt Fitzpatrick.

The two golfers were paired together for the third round on Saturday. The actions of Morikawa’s caddie, Jonathan Jakovac were deemed as a penalty. He would use some numbers he had written in his book and offered some advice to the two-time major champion on lining up a putt.

YouTube video

As per the official rules, a caddie can offer advice to the golfer. Morikawa’s caddie Jakovac, had used the degree of slope to calculate the distance and measurement and wrote it down on the yardage book. This is strictly prohibited in golf and because of the use of green-reading materials, the American’s golfer bogey was changed to a seven.

FS Video

Following the incident, Morikawa claimed he was not happy with the ruling. He would claim that PGA Tour rules official Stephen Cox called him in the locker room and made him wait for some time while he was in the midst of his warm-up.

Matt Fitzpatrick called out Collin Morikawa for the usage of green-material during third round

The development regarding Collin Morikawa and his caddie’ Jonathan Jakovac is now trending in the golf world. The debate regarding the usage of green materials for measurement has been going on for a while, with the tour putting a ban on them in 2022. This breach of rules by the golfer and his caddie was called out by Matt Fitzpatrick.

Collin Morikawa and Matt Fitzpatrick
Matt Fitzpatrick (L) and Collin Morikawa (R) [Pic Credit: Golf 365/AP]

As per reports, Fitzpatrick had heard a conversation with Morikawa and Jakovac. The Englishman had seemed to have forgotten about the incident until it was brought back up during a discussion on Saturday evening. He claimed that he was planning to use this tactic but was unsure about it and asked Stephen Cox to clarify it. This is when the actions of Morikawa and his caddie were found out.

I asked Coxy just to clarify what the situation was. I asked the question and he was like: ‘Well, now you’ve asked the question, I need you to tell me what’s going on... It’s nothing personal...it’s just I wanted to know because I would have used it earlier this year.
Matt Fitzpatrick on the situation regarding Collin Morikawa through The Guardian.

At the end of the tournament, this action did not affect the top of the standings. Morikawa finished in seventh place with 12 under. Meanwhile, Fitzpatrick finished in tied for top fourth with 15 under. Had Morikawa been in the running for the title, this action could have had a larger impact on the standings.

In case you missed it: