Two-time major winner Collin Morikawa is accused of CHEATING at The Masters after appearing to move his ball closer to the hole… but the American claims it’s ‘pretty routine’
Collin Morikawa faced a Twitter storm of cheating allegations following his opening round of The Masters Thursday.
The 26-year-old came under fire from the armchair rules officials after video emerged of him appearing to move his ball closer to the hole.
On the par-three sixth, the two-time major winner was lining up a putt and seemed to move his ball marker up behind the ball.
Social media was quick to accuse the American of cheating to move his ball closer and improve his chances of sinking his birdie putt, which ultimately didn’t and had to settle for par.
However, the Twitter conspiracists missed some crucial context before flinging about their allegations.
Collin Morikawa faced a Twitter storm of cheating allegations following his opening round
Video emerged of the American appearing to move his ball closer to the hole on the sixth
A longer video showed Morikawa informing his playing partner 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, which is legal.
Morikawa could be seen addressing his ball, which moved a bit, and bothered him, forcing him to back off.
He then turned to playing partner Matt Fitzpatrick, with the two playing in a pair due to Will Zalatoris’s withdrawal, and checked where he was placing the ball was alright with the US Open champion.
The American said it was ‘pretty routine’ in his post-round press conference before joking that social media’s speculation would help boost his PIP standings.
‘Yeah, the ball moved, & then I moved it back,’ he said. ‘Pretty standard now. Pretty routine in our rules book thankfully.’
When told about it going viral, he said ‘Good. Bring that PIP up. Blow me up, guys.’
The 26-year-old had checked with paying partner Matt Fitzpatrick that the move was alright
The two-time major winner was not docked any shots an finished three-under Thursday
The PIP (Player Impact Program) is a PGA Tour initiative that rewards its professionals based on their social media popularity.
Morikawa further defended himself on Twitter, posting: ‘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.’
He ultimately wasn’t docked any shots and finished tied-13th with a three-under 69 on his opening round.
The current World No. 12 had his best finish at The Masters last year, when he placed fifth.
