My player is Stephanie Louden
Even today. We’re playing the weekend.
Hot, dry and windy the last two days. Add extra firm fairways and one’s brain works overtime when trying to figure the run-out on approach shots. On the par five fifth, our 165 yard club scampered 215 yards onto the green for an eagle chance. After that, I told Steph “This is more British Open, than the British Open”. It’s both scary and fun at the same time.
Finally, caught in the act! All this time, I’ve been detailing cheating by the Koreans and been called a racist and more for my observations. Even been taken to the woodshed by the head honcho. Well yesterday, it all became evident that I was spot on. Did you notice that Shi Hyun Ahn and Ilmi Chung were disqualified? The reason is that they both played the wrong ball on their final hole and not correcting the infraction before signing their cards, to put it mildly.
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 DFT 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.
If what I have conveyed are the facts, this is the most egregious act that can be perpetrated in a game that relies on the honesty and integrity of the participants. Two players conspiring to cheat is unforgivable and should be dealt with in the harshest manner possible. No fines and no suspension. A lifetime banishment from LPGA competition is the only solution. An example must be made. The question is, will it?
ESP or just a logical assumption? Heard that third player in the group had a premonition of being a single in today’s round after the pairings came out. Good call.
On the lighter side: Golf’s Gong Show. A little fun before the games begin.
Life on Tour 
On the Ahn story, I vote for banishment. That infraction along with the incident in Portland (and other stops) proves to me she cannot be trusted and should be dealt with swiftly.
Lee can you enlighted us to the Portland incident. Thanks
A small issue, but it seems it has happened before numerous times this year. A player reserving a local caddie and then finding a tour caddy….not informing the caddy master of this. From what I understand, the LPGA dealt with the player and she paid a days pay to the local guy. Again, small issue but dealt with after it had happened multiple times this year.
You’re right, Larry. Toss ’em off the Tour.
Jeez Larry, you’ve got more breaking news than Anderson Cooper tonight. If this story is on the mark, there will be major repercussions for the tour.
It sounds like something some good friends would do at the end of a 3 six pack round as a joke!
I think the reason why you’ve been labeled as a racist, is you make much of it about race. If Shi Hyun & Il Mi both veterans of the tour, did this, yes it’s shameful, but it’s not necessarily a Korean thing. It’s an individual thing. Is this to say we Se Ri Pak or Jiyai Shin are the same? No, everyone is different, and it should be made about the individuals and not about where they are from.
Also, another indication of your racism is you stating that you were fairly happy when South Korea was knocked out of the World Cup. Something completely unrelated, and shows a clear bias against this country.
There are so many instances of Koreans cheating that it would fill a small book and these are the ones we know about. The LPGA actually had a meeting with the Korean players (no one else Sebastien) a couple years ago admonishing them for the actions of their parents. Advice and signals from outside the ropes was rampant. They have a complete disregard for the rules. That’s a fact.
BTW, who cares about the World Cup anyway (at least not me)? Get a sense of humor.
A new hero in golf should be celebrated. The caddie that turned in the less than honorable players should be recognized. He knew that he would probably be stiffed by his boss but he also knew what was right and what was wrong. He will sleep well in the coming nights.
The players also knew right from wrong but they chose to ignore the rules. They deserve the right to explain their actions but I don’t think it will happen.
I think Juli should be banished from the LPGA, too. She must have known she was cheating with that donut thing.
Julie was unaware of the rule and took her punishment. Ahn and Chung knew they played the wrong ball and tried to get away with it. See the difference? BTW, it’s hard to go through pending comments while driving a thousand miles.
Do all the people from England drink tea? Do all Germans eat sauerkraut? Do all the Irish drink Guinness? No, but we associate certain things with certain people(s) because of a long history of behavior.
There are always exceptions!
How about Jane Blalock when she was caught marking her ball wrong….a lot….cheating…I can’t remember but JUdy Rankin said something when this all happened with Jane????? The press jumped on that one….and best of all let’s not forget Wie Wie this year grounding her club in the hazard…Was she a POOR LOSER !!!!!!
There are plenty more that no one knows about. Like the player who tried to kick her ball back in bounds after she sniped her tee ball. Happened on the first hole way back when we played Randolph North in Tuscon many years ago. Mis-hit the foot wedge also and had to go back and to the tee!
I always assumed the accusations against Jane Blalock were blown out of proportion. She never seemed like a cheater. I could be wrong though as I don’t know her or anyone involved at the time. On the other hand, Gary Player has always had a reputation for cheating when he could get away with it and I’ve always believed the accusations. I wonder why I believe it about Gary but not about Jane.
I don’t want to vilify the Korean players. However, it’s really easy for longtime LPGA fans to do when they think of the negative effect the Koreans’ prevalence has had on the tour (Caroline Bivens can take a lot of blame too). There are several of them that I enjoy watching. I don’t know how they were raised, but I’ve heard their parents put a lot of pressure on them to succeed and that they’ve had a very one-dimensional, golf-focused upbringing. I always remember the clip of Jeong Jang double hitting a shot in a sand trap at a U.S. Open and denying that she did it even after looking at the video of herself doing it.
R de Nerd is spot on. It is the caddie’s responsibility to uphold the rules as much as any player. All these years of cheating Koreans and many many silent caddies who were well aware that it was going on. Larry your outspoken comments over the years are now vindicated! As I said in a recent post…call a “Spade a Spade” and a “Korean a Korean”
(Why am I still on probation?)
Larry,
Isn’t this conspiracy between the players to break the rules or not report a rule that had been broken, enough for Mr Empty Suit, Smiley Whan, LPGA tour commissioner, to get involved and suspend those 2 players for the rest of this season?
If it isn’t enough, what is?
I have absolutely no problem with what you wrote today. You named names and explained what happened. I think by doing so you did yourself, the tour and the readers of your blog a service. I don’t feel the same when you talk about Koreans or Asians cheating and don’t name names. Don’t get me wrong, I am no fan of the so-called Korean invasion of the tour. It’s just that when you make accusations or reveal wrong-doing, I think you should name names just as you did today. Thanks for the info. Something tells me we would never have heard about this anywhere else.
Ban them for life.
This is not a breach of the rules, this is collusion and conspiracy.
Larry,
This will be a good test to see if the new Commish has any b”’s.
He should do some kind of investagation,,at least have a meeting with these ( I am kinda suprised that Il Mi was involved in this alleged action)
Good Luck to the “Cut Maker” this weekend
Tom
I’ll be interested to see what more comes of the player DQ’s and will reserve any comment til more facts are in. Glad to see Stephanie having a pretty good event this week. I got the chance to meet her at the Futures Tour event here in Concord last month… even gave her a copy of my novel (hope she gets a chance to give it a read). She is very nice lady. Good luck to her (and you) on Sunday.
Very interesting. Will wait and see if anything come of these accusations. Thanks
Any info on Irene Cho whiffing a putt on the last hole in Portland and not claiming she did when asked what she made on hole by person keeping her score?
Haven’t heard that one Falcon.
If they agreed to cheat, they should be banned for life.
IF this is really what happened this is a no-brainer…..impose the LPGA sanction on cheating—whatever it may be…
As a rules official I feel this should be dealt with in the strongest terms. Golf is a game of honor and if you do not have integrity you should not be afforded the privilege of playing on tour.
If true that they conspired to say nothing, it is indeed a very serious offence. But I think a life time ban would be excessive. I would hope that a ban for 1 season would be enough to teach them a lesson. Golf is a honourable sport played by honourable people. Mostly. I don’t know how they could look another golfer in the face if they deliberately cheated.
Nice Job!
> Apparently, Ahn noticed that this was not her ball and conversed in Korean with Ilmi.
–> What do you mean, “Apparently” ? Do you read mind?
–> What does “conversed in Korean” have to do with
the cheating? They convered in Korean all the time!
> In the mean time, at least one caddie in the group noticed it also but did not say anything.
–> How do you know that at least one caddie noticed it?
> A lifetime banishment from LPGA competition is the only solution.
–> I agree, but you should be ready to leave if what
you said was not true.
I talked to someone who witnessed it all.
In other words, it’s hearsay.
Yeah, from the caddie who saw it all happen.
This whole incident makes me sad. Anyone remember Bobby Jones calling a penalty ON HIMSELF which cost him the US Open? What happened to that kind of honesty?
Korean players along with asian players in general aren’t going to be scrutinized in particular relative to players of other ethnicity and race , even after this incident. It’s just not going to happen … if there’s any kind of an suspicion that korean players are cheating , measures that are implemented will probably apply to all players. We have no proof that cheating happens every once in a while amongst players of other ethnicity when no one is observing the situation. There’s no way to really prove that it’s Korean players that are doing all of the cheating , if cheating becomes a problem , then all will suffer the consequences.
The likely fact is that when one person starts to cheat others do also , a million dollars or more is on the line … someone is going to suspect cheating , and then this individual will probably cheat once or thrice when the opportunity presents itself. My guess is that cheating probably happens , albeit rarely … these Koreans just got caught because they made themselves conspicuous by bickering secretively in another language. Not too smart now are they?
Banning or targetting Koreans and accusing them of cheating is unfeasible on the part of the lpga , it’s amazing how some of you even believe that this could happen.
Just those two.
Just out of curiosity,
“You did not see anything” Was she talking or was she asking? Or do you even know? If a person is not a good English speaker, you may have a tendency of asking a question in a statement. There is a difference between “You did not see anything.” and “You did not see anything?”.
Second, why is it you (who were not their caddies at CN), not the caddie himself who brought this matter in public?
Third, is it true that you were FIRED by Mi Hyun Kim after she won a tournament? Your story and replies are harsh against Korean players, but very forgiving and generous towards others, especially white players. You should clear YOURSELF before being claimed as “champions of justice” if you don’t want to be called a “racist” or “biased”.
I worked for Ahn once and her English is fine. Why would she ask her caddie if he saw anything? She knew she had played the wrong ball.
I answered the second part already.
No she did not fire me her father did through her agent (who didn’t last long). In fact, she didn’t even know I was let go and argued with daddy. Bad idea. This is before we found out who really runs the show in a Korean family. It was a done deal earlier in the week but no one knew it. BTW, the parents went behind the back of Kimmy’s best friend on tour and hired her caddie! At the next tournament in Portland, Kimmy’s now ex-friend dressed her down right on the range in front of everyone. Ripped her a new one! Daddy also tried to short me on the percentage check until I threatened to go to an official.
Does all this give you a little more insight in what we’re dealing with?
I was speaking to an Asian player’s representative last year about looping for them at Q-School in Daytona. We spoke a few times on the phone and were all set when I got a call from the handler stating that the player’s parents had made other caddy arrangements and I was out.
It’s no secret that most Asian players like to keep it in the family, and it’s not my place to say if that’s right or wrong. It’s just a different culture, and they have different ways of doing things.
The bottom line is, if you cheat and get caught, your privilege of playing on the LPGA Tour should be revoked.
It’s the GOLFERS responsibility to enforce the rules. Not the caddies. The caddy CAN protect the field from cheaters which is what it seems like he did. But thats not his responsibility at all. So neither caddy is guilty of anything. Either way, whether they said something or not.
Larry smich is just loooooooooser! Maybe, Nobody believe him!
No, the players who fail to follow the rules are.
Maybe we should have a KPGA in addition to the LPGA.
Larry i just found your website and really like it. A Blog post with a lot of comments like this one on Ahn & Chung is a sign of an interesting topic.
You definitely seem biased against the Koreans overall, but so are a lot of people. But i really enjoy them and i’ve followed golf for 48 years.
It was Annika who got me interested in the LPGA (which was at the same time the PGA went and still is completely boring). Since Annika bowed out, my 4 favorite LPGAers have been Koreans and I like the Japanese women golfers.
I love the LPGA – it is colorful, very international, and the players are more feminine & pretty than in years gone by.
I caddied at the club level and local PGA level for 13 years including for a player who went on to star on the PGA and also for a top female who went on to the LPGA and asked me to caddie at the du Maurier (then a major). Couldn’t get out of my day job.
Back then, about 1977, players & caddies made a lot less than today, even after factoring in inflation. So I never took the chance but I should have … today, the caddy money is great on the PGA … but I would choose the LPGA … it is far more interesting except for the top 5 or 6 PGA events.
By the way, I was there. I traveled from New York and caddied at the CN Canadian open in Winnipeg for an amateur in the Wednesday Pro-Am … I’d love to get a pro bag as a local caddie in the North East somewhere next year, I’ve still got it! … I get to several events every season … give me an Asian – I’d love it!
My so called “bias” is based on fact and well deserved. In all my over 30 years of looping on the LPGA, there has never been so much cheating and it’s been from Koreans. The players know it, the officials know it and so do the people on the top of the totem pole. They refuse to admit it publicly and wouldn’t know what to do about it anyway if they did.
The article is old enough to read and leave a comment, but I could expect that this would be happen in the game which sincerely need the fairness and the dignity. The caddie is so brave to expose the truth under being threatened by 2 Korean unfair golf-players. I would like to pledge him/her to stop all other fair players from their conspiracy and unfair performance for their selfish wins.