Justin Doeden has forgotten the saying that cheaters never win.
The 28-year old pro admitted on Monday that he cheated at the PGA Tour Canada Ottawa Open last week.
The man was accused of changing the score of his final hole in his second round of golf at Eagle Creek Golf Club, from a 7 down to a 5, after his partner had already signed his card. This brazen act would have allowed his incorrect score to be good enough for him to make the cut at 36 holes by just one stroke. This would also have prevented 13 players from making it to the 36-hole cut, and denied them a paycheck for that week.
Ryan French, of Monday Q Info, was the first to report the story.
French wrote, “At the scoring table, the player who had Doeden’s scorecard signed and confirmed it.” Doeden asked for the scorecard, stating that he needed to double-check a few things. The player did not think anything of it and handed Doeden the card before leaving the scoring area. The 18th hole was a 7 when he handed it to Doeden.
During lunch, players noticed that something was wrong with Doeden’s 36-hole score of 3-under. They reported this to tournament officials. The latter discovered Doeden had used an eraser in order to alter his score. Doeden resigned from the tournament after the investigation by the officials. French initially didn’t get a response from him.
In a post on social media, he admitted to cheating and asked forgiveness.
He wrote: “I’m here to admit the biggest mistake of my life.” “I cheated at golf.” This is not me. I let my sponsors down. I let my competitors down. I let down my family. I let myself down. I pray for your forgiveness. John 1:9.
Here I confess the biggest mistake of my life. I cheated at golf. This is not me. I let my sponsors down. I let my competitors down. I let down my family. I let myself down. I pray for your forgiveness. John 1:9 @acaseofthegolf1
Justin Doeden July 24 2023 HTML0
Doeden played collegiately for the University of Minnesota, and competed on the Korn-Ferrari and PGA Tours, but spent the majority of his time in PGA Tour Canada, and PGA Tour Latinoamerica. He will likely be suspended by the Tour under its catchall of “conduct unworthy”, but we won’t know.
A PGA Tour spokesperson told the media that “per Tour policy, this matter and any related disciplinary actions will be dealt with internally.”
Doeden’s scarlet letter as a cheater will remain with him forever, and it will be a heavy burden to carry.
