At last week’s Commissionaires Ottawa Open, a PGA Tour Canada event, Justin Doeden noted on his scorecard that he had made a par on the 18th hole, a par-5, instead of the score he actually made, a double-bogey seven.
Pro Golfer on PGA Tour Canada circuit admits to cheating, confesses and apologizes
Justin Doeden, who plays on the PGA Tour Canada circuit, admitted that he wrote down the wrong score at the Commissionaires Ottawa Open.
Jack Milko has been playing golf since he was five years old. He has yet to record a hole-in-one, but he did secure an M.A. in Sports Journalism from St. Bonaventure University.
The incident occurred at the end of the second round when Doeden was battling to make the cut.
Not only did Doeden write down the wrong score, but he erased the seven and replaced it with a five, which temporarily put him at 3-under for the tournament and one shot above the cut line, per Monday Q’s Ryan French.
Two players who witnessed Doeden’s double-bogey spotted the error on the leaderboard. They then approached tournament officials about the issue.
Doeden was supposed to be listed at 1-under, one shot below the cut line, instead of 3-under, the score the leaderboard had recorded.
But when tournament officials began investigating the incident, Doeden withdrew.
He later took to Twitter to apologize:
“I am here to confess of the biggest mistake I have made in my life to date,” Doeden said. “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”
At the end of his post, Doeden tagged French, who covers Monday qualifiers and rising stars among the PGA Tour’s developmental tours.
He also cited scripture, quoting John 1:9, which reads:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Purposefully writing down the wrong number on a scorecard breaches rule 3.3(b). Per the USGA, “If a marker, who is a player, knowingly certifies a wrong score for a hole, the marker should be disqualified.”
Although Doeden cheated, he still apologized for the incident—a hard thing to do for anyone who committed a wrongdoing.
Yet, the jury remains out regarding Doeden’s punishment, but a year-long suspension could be in play.
That would hurt Doeden’s chances to advance within the various circuits beneath the PGA Tour umbrella.
His most recent finish came on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica, where he lost in a playoff to eventual winner Chandler Blanchet at the Bupa Tour Championship at PGA Riveria Maya in Mexico.
Doeden, who attended the University of Minnesota, primarily plays on PGA Tour Canada. He has appeared in one PGA Tour event before, the 2020 Puerto Rico Open, but missed the cut.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
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