Justin Doeden cheated during the Ottawa Open, a PGA Tour Canada event held last week.
Doeden changed his score from a seven on his last hole in his second round to a five after his partner had signed it. Doeden was now one stroke over the 36-hole cutoff number, and 13 other players would have been sent home early.
The discrepancy was noticed by the players during lunch. Doeden was found by tournament officials to have used an eraser in order to alter the score. However, he resigned from the competition during the investigation. He did not respond to the request for comment, but confessed in a post on social media Monday.
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
Bernhard Langer, who is currently playing in the Senior Open at Royal Porthcawl, Bridgend, Wales, was questioned about the scandal on Wednesday during his pre-tournament media conference.
He said: “It is very disappointing to see someone cheating because the game was founded and built on honesty and integrity. That’s what our younger generations are taught, and we all strive to be role models and uphold rules.”
Golf is unique. What other sport penalizes you? You kick another soccer player and say that you didn’t touch the guy. Would you ever claim, “I tripped him, you need a penalty?” You won’t see this ever. Tennis, any other sport?
You never say it, but it’s out.
“What I am trying to say is that golf is unique in the way we punish ourselves. I’ve been there. I had a putt of 3 feet, I lined it out, put my putter in front, looked into the hole and put it back. The ball shifted slightly. It was not visible to anyone, and even a television camera couldn’t pick it out, but I knew it wasn’t the place I had placed it. I asked for a decision, but the rule was that if you address it you receive a one-shot penality. This cost me $330,000 and I did it myself. This is not something you see in other sports.
“But for me, it’s stupid, and changing a scorecard, in particular, is really ridiculous. How can you possibly think that you will get away with changing the scorecard? You are not simply breaking a rule. “You’re really stupid.”
Langer had two over par through the first twelve holes of his first round at Royal Porthcawl. He was seven shots behind Miguel Angel Jimenez, who shot a 5-under-par 66 in his first round.
