The caddies of two prominent Australian players are likely to escape with fines after coming to blows at the Australian Open at The Lakes in Sydney.

Grant Buchanan and Matt Kelly, the caddies of James Nitties and Marc Leishman respectively, were involved in a fight near the practice green prior to their first round on Thursday.

PGA Tour of Australasia officials are still looking into the incident and hope to reach an outcome by the end of next week.

However it’s understood the caddies will likely receive token fines over the dust-up.

The incident was believed to have been sparked by an altercation between the pair at the Star Casino on Tuesday night and tensions boiled over in front of other players and spectators on Thursday.

“Having spoken with those involved, there is still a need to speak with a number of other individuals who may be able to provide further information on the incident,” Langford-Jones said.

“To be fair to everyone concerned we need to let our inquiry go through the correct process in line with the PGA’s regulations, however we will endeavour to reach an outcome by the end of next week.

“The PGA Tour of Australasia and our members in no way condone this behaviour and we are saddened the incident has drawn attention away from this great tournament.”

Police have so far not been involved in inquiries and the PGA said it would only be involved if new information came to light.

“If as a result of our inquiries other agencies need to be involved they will be notified,” the statement said.

Leishman opened with a two-under 70 on Thursday and was even par for the day after 16 holes of his second round on Friday while Nitties was six shots further back after an opening-round 77.