Ep203: Tour Pros Cheating, Cover Ups, Weak Officiating - 'The Tours are Weak and Gutless'.

Strap in, this is a big pod - albeit a day late as Nick has been in Queensland - but we got there!

Also, before we start a reminder of our annual survey (there are prizes!), here's the link: https://access.itsmystation.com/s3/talk-birdie-to-me-2

Onto the show....Mark Allen in particular has come in hot over what happened on the Asian Tour event at the weekend, and we launch into it from the top. Cheating in professional golf. There are at least three instances we know of in recent times, Inhoi Hur's behaviour and actions at the weekend at the Namseoul Country Club were disgraceful. Mark Allen says the facts in this story have shocked him, saying what happened at the weekend has blown him away.

Nick and Mark explain what happened, and give their view on why it was a disgrace to professional golf, saying it can only be described as cheating. Essentially, he was given a mulligan on a professional tournament.

We compare Inhoi Hur's actions to those of Cam Young at the weekend, who called a penalty on himself incurring a one-shot penalty. Mark says what the penalty for cheating should be for a first offence, and a second offence...Nick agrees entirely. Nick spoke to a Tour Pro who played in the tournament and said that all the players were 'headless' with anger over what happened.

Is cheating in professional golf endemic? Well Nick says there was always rumours about the Asian Tour, and both Nick and Mark have experienced it. But there are other recent examples, and Mark names one player who was recently banned in Australia, and simply moved to another tour. And we discuss another Australian pro who was recently caught dropping a ball out of his pocket in a tournament.

Phew. Onto LIV. We talk about the Jon Rahm news, and Scott O'Neil's comments about the search for investment for LIV to continue beyond 2026. Does it survive? Nick and Mark give their view.

That's a plus for Hostplus this week is an unusual one - the plus for golf is that Inhoi Hur did not win the tournament, that's good for golf, he didn't deserve to and thankfully he didn't.

And into the turn, we chat about the Australian Golf Digest's Top 100 golf course rankings list which has come out over the last few days. Do Nick and Mark rate it? We discuss.

In the turn - speaking of cheating, Nick and Mark discover that the Tour Pro whose card they refused to sign was the same person! They don't name him, but they give a few clues if you feel like sleuthing....

For Betr, Nicks Top 5 is - if you are going to cheat in pro golf (which you should not) these are the 5 most common ways to do it.

Feedback for Southern Golf Club - we start with a few on our John Senden interview, could have read 100 out, there were heaps. Question about Adam Scott hitting the wrong ball at the weekend in a tournament, comment about Carlotta Ciganda's slow play, and a couple of LIV comments - there's been heaps, but we touch on a couple.

Nick takes us around the world in the PING globals, lots going on, and some great performances. Mark sidetracks the PING globals with a discussion about chocolate bars....which requires your input if you can help.

For the Golf Clearance Outlet, Mark's masterclass today is inspired by Cameron Young's wedges, and why he feels high bounce wedges are worth a shot.

We're live from Titleist and FootJoy HQ thanks to our great partners:

• Hostplus, Talk Birdie To Me's official retirement partner
• BMW, luxury and comfort for the 19th hole;
• Titleist, the #1 ball in golf;
• FootJoy, the #1 shoe and glove in golf;
• Golf Clearance Outlet, they beat everyone's prices;
• Betr, the fastest and easiest betting app in Australia;
• The Find My Player app - follow every player on every tour;
• And Southern Golf Club.

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