Former NCAA Champ DQ'd From LPGA Q-Series Over Rules Breach Reportedly Involving Her Mother

[dennyjones]

Beyond who claimed medalist honors (South Korea's Jeongeun Lee) and how many amateurs successfully earned their tour cards (eight), a different sort of drama played out on Saturday during LPGA Q-Series at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina. Doris Chen, the 2014 NCAA individual champion at USC and the 2010 U.S. Girls’ Junior champion, was disqualified after rules officials determined she had breached Rule 15-3b when she played a ball that had been out of bounds and then moved back in bounds on the 17th hole during Friday’s seventh round at the No. 7 course.

LPGA officials determined that “an outside agency” moved the ball back into play. In a statement, the tour said: “Ms. Chen and her caddie were made aware that the ball had been moved. Doris elected to play the ball, which was a wrong ball by definition, from its altered lie. Ms. Chen did not correct her error before teeing off on the next hole, thus resulting in the DQ penalty.”

According to reports from Golfweek and Golf Channel, Chen’s mother, Yuh-Guey Lin, is believed to have moved the ball.

Reached for comment on Sunday morning, Chen told GolfDigest.com she was searching for her ball farther up the hole when somebody in the gallery spotted it. Chen said that someone told her that a person had kicked the ball. Chen says that at the time the person did not say the ball had been moved from being out of bounds to in bounds, only that the ball had gone from a good lie to a bad lie. Chen says she thought she could play the ball as it lies, and so she continued on and finished the hole, along with the 18th. It was then, she said, that rules officials talked with her about the situation, informing her at that time that the ball was out of bounds.

“My caddie and I didn’t see anything happen. We were looking for the ball. I didn’t see the ball move,” Chen said. “It was just what the homeowner said. … In my mind, I thought I was just supposed to play the ball as it lied. … I realize now I should have called for a rules official to investigate.”

When asked if she spoke with her mother about whether she had moved the ball, Chen said: “She told me that she didn’t and she doesn’t know. And if she did, it may be by accident and she wasn’t aware.”

Chen added: “What I would like to say is that it was a misunderstanding. It was a stressful week and not my intention for any of it to happen. I was not directly involved in any way, but I take the responsibility and accept the ruling.

“I was not trying to cheat and I am not a cheater.”

Chen, 25, had been tied for 74th in the 102-player field after the sixth round at 14 over par, six strokes out of 45th place. The top 45 finishers and ties at the conclusion of the inaugural eight-round event earned LPGA Tour cards for 2019.

Since turning pro in 2015, Chen has played three seasons on the Symetra Tour, having earned $12,050. In 2018, she made only one cut in 12 events, earning $643. She reached Q-Series after finishing T-24 at Stage II of qualifying in Venice, Fla.

[iacas]

Not that it means much, but it doesn't sound like she was earning her LPGA Tour card anyway. And wow that's a really bad season in 2018.

This is one of the simpler rules, too, and it's disappointing that a professional player didn't know about this.

[boogielicious]

1 hour ago, iacas said:

Not that it means much, but it doesn't sound like she was earning her LPGA Tour card anyway. And wow that's a really bad season in 2018.

This is one of the simpler rules, too, and it's disappointing that a professional player didn't know about this.

My first question to the homeowner would have been, "Was it out of bounds before it was moved?" That is simple enough. It had to be very close to the OOB. Then hitting a provisional would have been obvious. And, if my ball was heading towards the OOB, I would have hit a provisional first.

[rehmwa]

tough one - once told it was kicked, the question "Well, where was it before it was kicked?" seems pretty obvious....and especially when the only info provided was it was moved from a 'good lie' to a 'bad lie'.  One would want to know where that 'good lie' was in the first place

gotta be mad at mom though....

[NM Golf]

When someone told her the ball was kicked she should have immediately asked where it originally came to rest. Thats an easy one regardless of the OB, not knowing the rules cost her like it should have. Not that she was doing all that well in the first place. Sounds like kind of an ugly situation if you ask me, mom's kicking her ball back into play, she's just continuing like nothing happened, everyone's oblivious. Where is the caddy in all of this, a caddy worth his salt at all would have at least told his player to call for a ruling.  The complete lack of attention to detail by her entire camp could be part of the reason she made $600 on the Symetra Tour last season.

3 hours ago, iacas said:

Not that it means much, but it doesn't sound like she was earning her LPGA Tour card anyway. And wow that's a really bad season in 2018.

This is one of the simpler rules, too, and it's disappointing that a professional player didn't know about this.

Well you can bet she won't to learn the rules now, starting next year she can just feign ignorance and everything will be okay. Although in this case I believe she would still have been DQed, correct?

[mcanadiens]

Do you suppose anyone would notice if I had my mom come to the course and kick my slices back into the fairway?

[iacas]

7 minutes ago, NM Golf said:

Well you can bet she won't to learn the rules now, starting next year she can just feign ignorance and everything will be okay. Although in this case I believe she would still have been DQed, correct?

I'll answer your question more in the other topic, but yes, for this she would have been DQed, but only because the ball was OB.

[rehmwa]

1 hour ago, NM Golf said:

Where is the caddy in all of this, a caddy worth his salt at all would have at least told his player to call for a ruling.  The complete lack of attention to detail by her entire camp could be part of the reason she made $600 on the Symetra Tour last season.

There's an article on golf channel.  The caddy told his version of the events where he recommended pretty much the correct course of action and she looks really bad, frankly (just this instance, nothing more).  If he's telling the truth, then the kid is going to get a rough time for sure earning a reputation back.

[NM Golf]

10 minutes ago, rehmwa said:

There's an article on golf channel.  The caddy told his version of the events where he recommended pretty much the correct course of action and she looks really bad, frankly (just this instance, nothing more).  If he's telling the truth, then the kid is going to get a rough time for sure earning a reputation back.

Here's the ARTICLE you are talking about. Talk about putting the caddy in a bad place. If the events actually unfolded like he said they did, she's a cheater. He told her to call a rules official and she basically told him to shut up about it. I don't imagine he will be caddying for her again anytime soon. Probably a good thing you could starve caddying for her.

[iacas]

22 minutes ago, NM Golf said:

Here's the ARTICLE you are talking about. Talk about putting the caddy in a bad place. If the events actually unfolded like he said they did, she's a cheater. He told her to call a rules official and she basically told him to shut up about it. I don't imagine he will be caddying for her again anytime soon. Probably a good thing you could starve caddying for her.

Good for him.

Bad for her.

At least, that's how it seems. And having seen this type of behavior frequently, I'm inclined to believe it just fine.

[rehmwa]

52 minutes ago, NM Golf said:

He told her to call a rules official and she basically told him to shut up about it.

If I had to pick one story to believe, I'd have to lean to the caddy.  He has nothing to really gain or lose by coming forward.  And the homeowner in the story matches his account most closely it seems - if there is any followup, it should be easy enough to find someone to corroborate one version over the other. 

However she put herself in this corner, she'll have to be accountable now.

Edited November 5, 2018 by rehmwa

[Vinsk]

What would the ruling be if no one could say where the ball was originally? What if everyone around said they don’t know if it was ob or not just that it was moved from original spot?

[NM Golf]

11 minutes ago, rehmwa said:

If I had to pick one story to believe, I'd have to lean to the caddy.  He has nothing to really gain or lose by coming forward. 

I disagree, he has his reputation to lose. He is a regular caddy on the LPGA and Symetra Tours, you don't want your name associated with a cheater. 

[rehmwa]

13 minutes ago, NM Golf said:

I disagree, he has his reputation to lose. He is a regular caddy on the LPGA and Symetra Tours, you don't want your name associated with a cheater. 

no.  if he says nothing, then it's just her word vs some homeowner that ran out and accused her mother.  it's a non-story.  He is the one that breaks it wide open.  He has no reputation to lose.  Maybe some reputation to gain, though, in some people's worlds.  I tend to believe him though.  Especially if she tried to sorta verbally bully him into keeping quiet....that right there would be enough, if the rest isn't.

Edited November 5, 2018 by rehmwa

[iacas]

9 minutes ago, rehmwa said:

no.  if he says nothing, then it's just her word vs some homeowner that ran out and accused her mother.  it's a non-story.  He is the one that breaks it wide open.  He has no reputation to lose.  Maybe some reputation to gain, though, in some people's worlds.  I tend to believe him though.  Especially if she tried to sorta verbally bully him into keeping quiet....that right there would be enough, if the rest isn't.

I think the other players would talk. The girls she was playing with would talk. They didn't play in a vacuum.

I'm with @NM Golf on that one. He still had skin in the game.

[Vinsk]

1 hour ago, NM Golf said:

I disagree, he has his reputation to lose. He is a regular caddy on the LPGA and Symetra Tours, you don't want your name associated with a cheater. 

I agree with this. It looks quite bad if she told the caddy to ‘keep quiet about the details’ then go and repeatedly claim to ‘not be a cheater.’ She made a bad choice and maybe didn’t understand the rule, but she has to know what she did afterwards was wrong in any light.

[NM Golf]

You know as I read more about this, maybe she did know the rule and just blatantly cheated. She didn't want a rules official there because of this:

Quote

 

Decision 18-1/3

Player Unaware Ball Moved by Outside Agency Does Not Replace Ball

Q.In stroke play, a player's ball was moved by an outside agency. Neither the player nor his caddie was aware that his ball had been moved, so the player played the ball without replacing it. He then learned that his ball had been moved. What is the ruling?

A.As it was not known or virtually certain that the ball had been moved by an outside agency when the player played the ball, he proceeded properly and incurred no penalty - see the Note to Rule 18-1.

 

She was just trying to get the heck out of there before it was virtually certain the ball was moved. 

[iacas]

4 minutes ago, NM Golf said:

She was just trying to get the heck out of there before it was virtually certain the ball was moved. 

I don't think so. She was told it had moved, and at that point she has to do a little detective work and then, realistically, get a rules official to make a decision.

She said she thought you played it as it lie, and referenced a shot she thought Tiger Woods hit once… but it was probably not at rest. It was probably a bouncing ball that hit someone or something.