Harrington on PGA Tour golf cheat: "Is this poor person under outside pressure?"

Padraig Harrington in disbelief at the latest golf cheat scandal on PGA Tour Canada.

28 Jul 2023

Harrington on PGA Tour golf cheat: "Is this poor person under outside pressure?" — Harrington on PGA Tour golf cheat: "Is this poor person under outside…

Padraig Harrington has called into question whether golf cheat Justin Doeden is "under some outside pressure" following his shock actions on the PGA Tour Canada circuit last week.

Harrington, speaking ahead of this week's Senior Open at Royal Porthcawl in Wales, admits he was in disbelief that a Tour pro could think they could cheat and get away with it in the modern era.

Doeden took to Twitter to confirm he had cheated last weekend.

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He made a double-bogey seven on the 18th hole but he then erased his score to a five to so that he could make the halfway cut.

While tournament organisers looked into what had happened after he had submitted his scorecard, Doeden chose to withdraw knowing his fate.

Doeden tweeted that it was "the biggest mistake" he had made in his life.

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When pressed by the media on Doeden's cheating last week, Harrington said:

"It’s hard to believe that in the modern era, somebody could still think that they could [cheat]. I honestly don’t know [if it is] a cry for help. I have no idea. It just seems bizarre that somebody would do that in a fully-fledged organized tour event. And he thought he would get away with it?

“Is this a serial offender? I suppose that’s why we have in real life, why we have a court system and a judge because, you know, I’m sitting here thinking, it makes no sense. There must be a reason why this has happened, is this poor person under some outside pressure or something, or why would they do this?"

What did you make of Doeden's cheating? Have you seen any cheating at your golf club? Share your thoughts and comments over on the GolfMagic social media channels.

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