Scott McCarron

For those who follow PGA Tour golfing, you would know that, last week, Scott McCarron kicked off a storm of controversy by accusing Phil Mickelson of cheating (although he has now apologised for doing so). In essence, wedges with square grooves are no longer allowed in PGA Tour golf. However, due to a loophole arising from a court case, a 20 year old Ping wedge with square grooves is allowed. Phil Mickelson took advantage of this loophole and used the old Ping wedge.

In an interview, Scott was asked what he thought of players like Phil using the old Ping wedges. Scott basically replied "It's cheating and I am appalled Phil has put it in play." This caused a shitstorm of controversy in the golf world and a couple of days later, after "careful contemplation", Scott McCarron came out with a new statement basically saying that he stands by his previous comments but that he never called Phil a cheater.

Yeah.

A couple of points before I get into this. I don't follow golf so I don't know much about this issue or the people involved. I only noticed it as the headline of the article in the paper was "I won't be silenced, says McCarron" which is a good headline in that it made me think it was related to civil rights. As this was in the sports section of the newspaper, which isn't the normal place for articles regarding civil rights, it piqued my interest which resulted in me reading the article which also goes to prove how important a good headline is.

Anyway, considering that the loophole allows the use of the old Ping wedges, how does that count as cheating? Let me put that in a different way - NO RULES ARE BEING BROKEN. Sure, you could try to argue that its slimy and that it isn't in the "spirit" of the game, but that's completely different from cheating. And if Scott had left it there, I would probably have nothing to talk about. His initial response was in an interview and in a situation like that, he could well have used words that he didn't really intend as a result of his passion about the issue.

However, what I found hilarious is that after "two days of contemplation", he actually had the gall to come out and say that he stands by his previous comments and that he didn't actually accuse Phil Mickelson of cheating. Really?

Lets revisit what he said.

When asked what he thought of Phil and other players using the old Ping wedges, Scott's response was "It's cheating [emphasis added] and I am appalled Phil has put it in play". Now, to be fair, reporters can sometimes be evil/lazy (yeah - I went there!) and you can't always trust what they write. Also, to be fair, I'm not an expert in the English language. But unless Scott is being misquoted, that really sounds like he just labelled Phil and a bunch of other players as cheats.

Considering he is making this statement a couple of days after the interview, he no longer has the excuse of being put on the spot in an interview situation. In fact, his statement just makes him sound like a moron (or does he think we're morons?). As far as I can tell, he very clearly labelled anyone using the old Ping wedges as cheaters and I would love to hear any kind of argument otherwise.

Anyway, as I mentioned above, Scott McCarron has now apologised for his comments so I guess that's the end of this particular controversy.

Also, I'm a little surprised that a professional golf player and 16 year Tour veteran would be a scrub.