Caddy charges golfers, LPGA disregarding seriousness of penalty

The Year of the Rule has taken another turn.

Last weekend at the CN Canadian Women’s Open, two players, Ilmi Chung and Shi Hyun Ahn, were disqualified from the tournament on Thursday for signing an incorrect scorecard. But according to reports on-site, the players had previously decided to collude and not disclose the fact that they had accidentally played the wrong ball.

Now, Ahn’s caddy is speaking. In an interview with Waggle Room, Tim Hegna, a journeyman caddy, reveals his side of the story. On the 18th, Ahn chipped up to the green, but apparently played the wrong ball. And then it went like this:

"I saw the ball and told [Ahn], ‘This is a Titleist 6. It’s the wrong ball. You should tell Chung.’"

Hegna said Ahn didn’t acknowledge what Hegna said. In fact, she said
nothing at all on the green. The players finish out and go to the
scoring tent. All three sign their cards neither Ahn nor Chung taking
the penalty.

As they were heading back toward the clubhouse, Hegna says Ahn told
him, "Be here at 6:40 tomorrow and don’t say anything to anyone."

Pretty incendiary stuff there. Hegna and Ahn had only known each other for a few days, so this isn’t a case of long-term betrayal or anything. But if those players were the only ones involved, that would be one thing. Hegna alleged that the LPGA didn’t do enough to handle the issue on its own either:

Hegna was displeased with the LPGA response to his efforts to come
forward on this issue, saying, "I told the LPGA the same [account]. What
they do about it is up to them. They’re trying to sweep it under the
rug."

Ultimately, the LPGA Tour says that the Rules of Golf were
obeyed. This incensed Hegna, who later added, "When a caddie says
something to you and you nothing, what’s that called? A mistake? You
can’t call it a mistake."

"I know the truth," Hegna said. "I know the Rules of Golf. What [Ahn] did was not right."

If what Hegna is saying is true — and there’s no reason to believe he isn’t — this reflects poorly on both the golfers and the LPGA, and the LPGA owes it to its fans and its reputation to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible.

Check the rest of the interview at Waggle Room. It’s good stuff.

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3. Stevie Williams says all’s copacetic with Tiger Woods
4. Paul Stankowski gets himself a caddy via Twitter
5. No penalty here: Dustin Johnson and Natalie Gulbis are dating