Zach Johnson insists he did not swear at the Augusta patrons after hitting a triple bogey before missing the cut at the Masters.
The 2007 champion says it is 'laughable' that he would swear at the fans and says he was just angry at his own performance.
Johnson carded a three-over-par 75, meaning he finished on +7 and will miss out on the weekend's action in Georgia.
His worst hole came at the 12th, with his first tee shot sailing way to the left before his next effort from the tee box going right of the green.
Masters: Zach Johnson appeared to swear at patrons at Augusta
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Johnson chipped onto the green before two-putting to secure a hugely disappointing triple bogey.
In a clip that has surfaced on social media, fans were heard cheering when the 48-year-old finally sunk the putt.
Johnson reacted by appearing to say 'f*** off' in the direction of the patrons.
But he claims that was not the case and was initially confused when asked about the incident when speaking to the media, before apologising for what he said.
Johnson said: "That I swore at the patrons? That’s laughable. That’s completely laughable.
"I can’t hear the patrons, number one. Number two, I just made a triple bogey on the 12th hole that evidently is going to make me miss the cut, which at the time I knew was pretty sensitive in the sense that I needed to keep making pars.
"If I’ve said anything, which I’m not going to deny, especially if it’s on camera, one, I apologise, and two, it was fully directed towards myself entirely because I can’t hear anything behind me. Does that make sense?"
Towards the end of his press conference, Johnson again brought up what happened on the 12th, insisting he was sorry if what he said came across wrong.
He said: "I don’t know what was said on 12 because I’m really frustrated by that.
"I’m just frustrated by that. I am sorry if it looked like that. Please know that.
"I had no intention of – I can’t hear anybody. I probably should have said something to my caddie.
"No, I’m just kidding. All seriousness, I apologize if there was something there."
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Masters: Zach Johnson insists he did not swear at the fans
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It isn't the first time that Johnson has seemed to take grievance with supporters in recent months.
He was seen talking to a group at the Phoenix Open in February at TPC Scottsdale.
Johnson made it clear at the time he was not happy with the atmosphere at the event.
He said: "At some point - I don't know what the line is, but you have people falling out of the rafters, you have fights in the stands.
Masters: Zach Johnson missed the cut at Augusta
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"It's to the point where now, how do you reel it in? Because it's taken on a life of its own. I think the Thunderbirds probably need to do something about it.
"I'm assuming they're ashamed. Because at some point, somebody's either going to really, really get hurt or worse. You've got a woman falling down 20 feet."
