Cheat accusation made Sung Kang '˜mad' but he's keen to atone

Almost three weeks since he was accused of cheating, Sung Kang would prefer for the whole saga to be over. Not because he believes he did anything wrong. He doesn't want to remain bogged down in a row he believes can't be settled.
South Korea's Sung-Hoon Kang tees off on the 3rd hole. Picture: David Davies/PA WireSouth Korea's Sung-Hoon Kang tees off on the 3rd hole. Picture: David Davies/PA Wire
South Korea's Sung-Hoon Kang tees off on the 3rd hole. Picture: David Davies/PA Wire

Playing alongside Joel Dahmen in the final round of the TPC Potamac, there was a 25-minute delay as the players and an official tried to determine the correct place for a drop ball. The American refuted assertions that Kang’s ball had crossed a lateral hazard at the tenth hole and was annoyed when the rules official allowed the Korean to drop his ball closer to the hole. The 31-year-old saved par, finished third and booked his entry into this week’s Open.

That night Dahmen took to Twitter and, referring to the incident, said: “Kang cheated. He took a bad drop from a hazard. I argued until I was blue. I lost.”

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In a statement issued by the PGA Tour on his behalf, Kang said he stood by the ruling and his stance has not altered in the interim.

Wrapping up an opening round 2-under 69 at Carnoustie yesterday he revealed that the accusations had made him “mad” but he insisted he would not change a thing. “I followed the rules by the rules official,” he said. I didn’t want to say anything bad about Joel because there can be different opinions. But the way he just said it on Twitter was not right. I wanted to defend my side and say something, but I asked a lot of advice and the other guys on Tour said, ‘Don’t respond to it and it will go away’. Whatever I say, some people are going to trust it, and some people are not going to trust it. I have to just focus on my golf game.”

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