Cheater Zach Holland spotted driving in car to green at the fourth hole early in the morning before he teed off for his round in a pairs competition.
CRICKET has had its ‘Clicky Ponting’ cheating scandal – now golf has been hit by a hole-in-one hoodlum caught trying to fake one during a tournament.
Zach Holland put a ball in the cup at the fourth hole early in the morning before he teed off for his round in a pairs competition.
The golfer – who plays at a near-pro plus-two handicap – completed the first three holes then told his group he had to make a phone call because his grandmother was ill. He said he would run ahead to the next tee and hit his shot to keep up with the pace of play.
When the rest of the group arrived at the par-three fourth Holland coolly said he had hit his shot but did not know where the ball ended up.
He then disappeared to make his call.
When his partner and opponents found his ball in the cup they all celebrated what they thought was a hole-in-one.
But Holland’s achievement sparked scepticism in the clubhouse as there were no witnesses who saw him make the wonder shot.
Staff at WingHaven Country Club in Missouri, US, confronted him after finding security footage of him driving a car near to the fourth hole before his tee-off time.
Holland confessed, admitted he had ‘completely made a fool’ of himself and told radio station 101 ESPN he had resigned his membership at the club.
“You do something as dumb as I did – there are consequences for that,” he said.
The tournament – where both players on a team had to be official members of the same golf club – included a hole-in-one prize pot.
Asked his motivation for the scam Holland replied: “I don’t really know. I’ve talked to people and there really is no motivation – just complete stupidity.
“There is no excuse for what happened.”
He said due to his low handicap he and his playing partner had to knock two shots off whatever they scored under tournament rules to even out the competition.
“We were giving two shots back to the field and I went about it just completely and utterly the wrong way,” he added.
Holland, a former college golfer, continued: “I made a terrible mistake – the lack of moral character.
“I can take the banter and the chatter because I deserve that from a golf perspective.
“But what I am most worried about is my family – breaking trust with a marriage I have had for five years next month.
“We have two kids that are under three and, you know, it’s not fair to them for me to put them in that situation where they walk in a room. There is a stigma there that your dad…”
Asked if he had ever done anything like it before he replied; “No, not to this extent.”
When pushed to explain what he meant he replied: “I’m not a cheater on the golf course. I made a bad decision and I have to suffer the consequences.”
Nathan Charnes, general manager at WingHaven and acting president of the Professional Golfers’ Association of America – aka PGA, said the club had ‘promptly addressed the matter’ and they ‘care deeply about the integrity of the game and the experience we provide for our members and guests’.
It comes just a fortnight after cricket was knocked for six when Brian Devine, 38, was accused of getting opponents caught out by clicking his fingers to fake the sound of the ball brushing the bat on the way to the wicketkeeper’s gloves.
He has been suspended and his team Saltburn Cricket Club 2nd XI is under investigation over claims it used the trick to cheat its way to the top of the league.
TV host Piers Morgan said Devine – who he dubbed ‘Clicky Ponting’ in a play on the name of legendary Australian batsman Ricky – ‘must be the biggest cheat in cricket history’.
PR gurus have suggested Brian could make a fortune from personal appearances at pubs, clubs and sports bars with folk queuing up to hear him talk about his scam.
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