PGA Tour China's leading money winner, Xin-Jun Zhang, has been suspended six months by the China Golf Association for signing for incorrect scorecards in multiple tournaments.
The China Golf Association made the announcement Oct. 29, retroactively suspending Zhang from Sept. 15 until March 14, 2015.
Zhang was disqualified from the Lanhai Open in June after turning in scores of 67 and 72. In the second round, Australian playing partner Brett Drewitt claimed Zhang didn't account for a stroke on his scorecard. After reviewing tape, PGA Tour China officials agreed with Drewitt and disqualified Zhang.
In September, Zhang was again disqualified at the Cadillac Championship, turning in a 73 after Round 1. Afterward, PGA Tour China officials disqualified Zhang for turning in an incorrect score on the par-3 14th hole at Qinghe Bay Golf Club, indicating a par when it should have been a bogey.
Initially, several media reports wondered if the June disqualification was a conspiracy by Zhang's playing partners. However, Zhang took full responsibility for the incident in a since-deleted post on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo. He also denied the conspiracy theory in comments to the media.
In eight PGA Tour China starts, Zhang won the Beijing Open -- his next start after the Cadillac Championship DQ -- and finished second three other times. Four events remain in the inaugural PGA Tour China season, announced a year ago this week by PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem. The top five players on the tour's season-ending money list earn status on the Web.com Tour for 2015.
Topic found via Geoff Shackelford
Add Comment