Adam Scott gave a first look at the official video evidence at Monday’s “The Match” against Brooks Koepka, and Scott’s camp has released a snippet of the footage.
Koepka called out Jordan Spieth in footage reminiscent of Tiger Woods’ infamous “hotdogging” incident at the 2000 British Open at Royal Birkdale, in which Woods used his foot and golf clubs to run with drive in the wrong direction to distract a chasing Robert Gamez in the penultimate hole of the final round.
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Koepka, fresh from winning the US Open two weeks ago, led 3up after four holes against Dustin Johnson in his first round, and then went on to beat Spieth to move into contention for the Players Championship title in May.
After the match, the former Masters champion said: “I just wanted to spank him, honestly. I wanted to give it as good a crack as I could … I mean, there are a lot of games you could play with those, I mean, there are a lot of good-natured things that you can play.
“I mean, some people think it’s a bummer, you know. There are pros and cons to both sides.”
In a statement released later on Monday, Scott’s wife, Nicole, said: “We wish Dustin and Brooks all the best. We did catch the highlights of the match on the news this afternoon and can say that there was never any intention of Dustin doing anything inappropriate. Dustin never walked around the green with his feet out. Adam never swung a club with his feet out. He just wanted to swing with his core strength, as he does every single swing.
“At one point there was a selfie stick involved, as they filmed the match and I’m sure it will be repeated on television in the future, but no swings were done out of the normal swing motion. Some of the shots were done with hands in laps. Anyone who watches Adam hit the ball over and around greens knows that.”
As he left the course after the 12th hole, Koepka asked his opponent if he could “spank” him. In scenes reminiscent of Tiger Woods’ ‘hotdogging’ incident at the 2000 British Open at Royal Birkdale, the US Open champion made contact with Scott’s face and neck during their match. Koepka hit a drive on the third and while Scott was trying to gather his clubs, Koepka had moved past him and was standing on the fairway. The American went on to win the hole and the match 6&5. He was playing the first round of the “The Match” against Dustin Johnson at Sawgrass. As he left the course after the 12th hole, Koepka asked his opponent if he could “spank” him.
In footage posted on Jordan Spieth’s Twitter account, Koepka is seen hugging his opponent as he walks off the 12th green, which happened on Sunday. Koepka said: “How’s Dustin doing? I was just trying to finish.”
Scott replied on Twitter: “Thanks. Fun for the whole family that way.”