04/18/24
August 30, 2010
Cheating Allegations Rock LPGA: Two players who were disqualified from the CN Canadian Women’s Open have been accused of conspiring to cheat. The allegations were made by longtime Tour caddie Larry Smich, who said that Shi Hyun Ahn and Il Mi Chung tried to cover up playing the wrong balls on the last hole on Thursday. Here’s what he wrote in his blog: "Here is what I’ve heard of the alleged incident. Both balls were in the fairway. Ahn missed the green and Ilmi hit hers on. Ahn chipped it close and tapped in for par. This is where it all begins. Apparently, Ahn noticed that this was not her ball and conversed in Korean with Ilmi. In the mean time, at least one caddie in the group noticed it also but did not say anything. They finished the hole, went to the scoring tent, checked the scores and signed their cards. Somewhere, either before or after going to the tent, Ahn told her caddie (a Nationwide looper and only working for her this week) “You did not see anything”. As of right now, I do not know who owned up and went to the officials. The third player in the group was oblivious to the situation and was not involved. BTW, Ahn shot 72 and Chung a 76."
posted by tommytrump to golf at 10:34 PM - 6 comments
The allegations were made by longtime Tour caddie Larry Smich
One letter away from eponysterical.
The original post is probably worth a link, because Smich apparently has more to say about the LPGA Tour, while, according to Stephanie Wei, this isn't the first time he's focused on Korean players on the tour. That said, Weeks' follow-up, while also from unnamed sources, points towards deliberate collusion.
posted by etagloh at 12:57 AM on August 31, 2010
I don't know how you can conspire to cheat when you didn't actually cheat. They sought out the rules official and were disqualified.
posted by bperk at 12:35 PM on August 31, 2010
They sought out the rules official and were disqualified.
If it's true that they only did so a couple of hours after leaving the course because one of the players' caddies threatened to go to the officials, then that makes it a lot muddier.
posted by etagloh at 12:43 PM on August 31, 2010
they only did so a couple of hours after leaving the course because one of the players' caddies threatened to go to the officials
This smells worse than a clay pot of 500 year old kimchi.
posted by irunfromclones at 07:00 PM on August 31, 2010
One, whether this is blatant cheating and/or a major rule violation, either way they signed intentionally signed incorrect scorecards and thus need to be disqualified. The collusion factor just makes them candidates for a suspension in my opinion.
What I don't understand is how 2 professional golfers and 2 professional caddies could be unaware of which ball belonged to each player. If they were right next to each other, one would think they'd check carefully. If the balls weren't that close, you'd think they'd know where their ball landed.
I mean it's not like the conditions I play under in which there might be several balls in the same fairway, a few of which are from players hitting on adjacent holes, and none of the players being 100% sure what brand of ball they just hit..."Mine had a company logo on it, not sure what company". These players all mark their balls, and I just find it hard to believe they could all be that clueless on the course. they deserve a suspension on that alone.
posted by dviking at 07:44 PM on August 31, 2010
I may argue about things like scorecards and "Is this a bunker or not?" or other ridiculous rules that golf has, but THIS is definitely cheating. Out you go...