Why Collin Morikawa’s Unwitting Two Stroke Penalty at the Hero World Challenge Is As Bizarre As It Sounds

The two-stroke penalty on Collin Morikawa after a rule breach at the Hero World Challenge is much more complicated than it seems. The use of a measuring device by Morikawa’s caddie, Jonathan Jakovac, on practice putting green rewarded a massive effect on Morikawa’s Saturday score before the final round. The penalty was due to the breach of Model Local Rule G-11 on hole 4, which doesn’t allow green reading tools. 

On Saturday morning, JJ took the reading of the degree of slope on the practice putting greens and wrote the information in Morikawa’s yardage book, as reported by Stephen Cox. Also, the information was made to be used on par-4, the fourth hole. But the use of a level to measure wasn’t a breach of the rule. The information cannot be written on a yardage book and has to be retained by the golfer through formulae. The rules committee was made aware of the potential rule violation late Saturday night after Matt Fizpatrick questioned the act. Reflecting on the same, PGA Tour referee Stephen Cox spoke in an interview. 

Stephen Cox Breaks Down the Model Local Rule G-11

In an interview, Cox highlighted the fact that “we respect the traditional methods of people wanting to have notes in a yardage book…when we drafted this Model Local Rule, we wanted to protect that some players and caddies take more notes than others. And we were very specific in the fact that these handwritten notes needed to be obtained through traditional methods to protect the fundamental skill of reading greens within our sport.” 

Added to that, he continued, “A lot of players use other formulas where they retain that information to memory. You do need to retain that in your memory for you to take onto the course. Unfortunately, in this case, that formula was transferred into the book as a handwritten note and then subsequently used, and that’s where the breach occurred”. He clearly explained the rule and spoke about how the information can’t be written anywhere. 

Morikawa finished the three rounds with a 10-under 206, which was six strokes behind Scottie Scheffler. But Matt Fitzpatrick reached out to Cox regarding the clarification of MLR when the information about the breach came to light. Fitzpatrick stated in an interview that he warned Morikawa and Jakovac about the violation of writing it down previously, but Jakovac claimed that he confirmed it with the officials. 

As a result of this, Morikawa was informed of the penalty fifteen minutes before his tee time, and he was then 8 strokes behind Scheffler. 

After Sunday’s round, Morikawa said in a press conference that they were under the impression that writing down the measurements was fine. But lastly, he accepted it as their mistake. Morikawa ended up in seventh place on the leaderboard, while Scheffler savored the victory at Albany. If Morikawa hadn’t made the mistake, he would have tied with Jordan Spieth in the sixth position. As per the news, the distance rollback rule for golf balls will also be confirmed within a week’s time, as promised by the USGA and R&A. Only time will tell how that will affect the sport.

About the author

Suchita Chakraborty

Suchita Chakraborty is a senior golf writer at The SportsRush. She did her post-graduation at St. Xavier's University. For a year now, she has developed a riveting inclination toward golf, with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy being her top-tier motivational figures to indulge in the sport. She even lives by the words of the Hall of Famer, "You can always become better", which impels her to excel every day. Her strong suit in golf is covering the LPGA Tour, especially the nooks and crannies of the international event, the Solheim Cup. As a pastime amusement, Suchita also engages herself in reading about golf controversies. Her favorite pick is ‘LIV and Let Die’ by Alan Shipnuck, which covers the PGA-LIV beef.

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