PGA Tour pro says he CHEATED in tournament: "Biggest mistake I've made in life"
PGA Tour Canada pro tweets: "I am here to confess of the biggest mistake I have made in my life to date. I cheated in golf."
PGA Tour Canada pro Justin Doeden has taken to Twitter to confess he "cheated" at the Commissionaires Ottawa Open last week.
According to MondayQ.com, Doeden, 28, made a double-bogey seven on the final hole in the second round to finish at 1-under par.
That left him a shot off what would become the cut line.
Then things took a huge turn.
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Doeden asked his playing partner for his card, which had already been signed, saying he wanted to double check it.
The playing partner then left the scorer's hut, thinking nothing of it.
The scorecard at the time had a 7 written down on the 18th.
By the time Doeden had finished with the card before submitting it, an eraser was used and a 5 went down on the card.
That brought Doeden back up to 3-under par, and inside the cut line.
Cue confusion, and complete mayhem.
On the @PGATOURCanada players noticed a scoring error on the leaderboard. They alerted officials
The investigation that followed uncovered an erased scorecard, a 5 that was a 7, angry competitors, and a WD.
A wild (alleged) cheating storyhttps://t.co/27ZtlgRBcU— Monday Q Info (@acaseofthegolf1) July 22, 2023
Tournament officials were soon informed of the amended score by Doeden's two playing partners, who both saw him make a 7 on 18.
The walking scorer also confirmed a score of 7.
Doeden had reportedly found the water with with his second shot to the par-5 18th.
He then took his drop and sent his fourth shot into the bunker before splashing out and taking two putts for a double-bogey seven.
While the investigation was ongoing, Doeden decided to WD from the tournament.
Since Doeden had withdrawn with a 3-under par total at the time, his 5 at 18 remained on the scorecard.
The other interesting part of this story is that had Doeden remained in the tournament at 3-under par, he would have sent 13 players home.
That is because the top 60 and ties make it through to the weekend on the PGA Tour Canada, and those 13 players outside the cut line were on T61.
Once Doeden had WD'd, however, the cut mark eventually fell at 2-under par meaning all of those 13 players made the weekend.
One of the players who finished at 2-under par told MondayQ.com, "he could have affected my career."
I am here to confess of the biggest mistake I have made in my life to date. I cheated in golf. This is not who I am. I let my sponsors down. I let my competitors down. I let my family down. I let myself down. I pray for your forgiveness. John 1:9 @acaseofthegolf1
— Justin Doeden (@jdoeden11) July 24, 2023
Doeden had declined comment over the weekend but finally confessed to his cheating on Monday via Twitter:
Canada's Stuart Macdonald went on to win the tournament in a playoff over American duo Devon Bling and Luke Schniederjans.
Macdonald sealed the deal with a birdie at the fourth extra hole.
The trio had finished the 72-hole event on 19-under par.
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