"I didn't notice anything" - Jose Maria Olazabal on avoiding penalty at The Masters

Jose Maria Olazabal said he did not hold discussions with rules officials at The Masters despite appearing to break a golf rule during round one of the first men's major of the year.

The Spaniard, now 60, raced out of the blocks on Thursday and by the time he had reached the fourth hole at Augusta National was two under par. 

Olazabal, who led Europe to Ryder Cup success at Medinah in 2012, managed to stay bogey-free until he reached the 14th. 

The two-time Masters winner, who won the coveted green jacket in 1994 and again in 1999, then dropped three more shots on his final four holes to sign for a respectable 74. 

He beat his playing partner, 21-year-old South African Aldrich Potgieter, by a whopping 10 strokes and will have a great chance to make the weekend on his 37th appearance at The Masters. 

Fred Couples is the oldest player to make the cut at The Masters. The American set the record aged 63 at the 2023 Masters. 

But Olazabal faced scrutiny from golf fans online, with some suggesting he should've incurred a one-shot penalty. 

What happened?

On No. 2, Olazabal's found himself in a difficult situation after his tee shot found the pine straw between a pair of trees. 

During a practice backswing, Olazabal appeared to clip a tree behind, moving a branch and knocking leaves off the tree. 

Olazabal then punched out into the fairway, knocked his third close and made birdie on the hole.

Take a look at the clip here:

Rule 8.1a of the official rules of golf states that "a player must not take any of these actions if they improve the conditions affecting the stroke".

A player cannot move, bend or break any:

• Growing or attached natural object
• Immovable obstruction, integral object or boundary object
• Tee-marker for the teeing area when playing a ball from that teeing area

Olazabal was asked after his round: "Was there some conversation after the round about your practice swing on the second hole for your second shot? I think on TV they were saying you might have clipped a branch or something. Was there any conversation about that?

He replied: "No, I didn't notice anything, no."

Olazabal clarified that no conversation was held with rules officials. 

Some have argued that the falling leaves did not improve the area of his intended swing. 

What are your thoughts?

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