Doris Chen's caddie reveals he was told to cover up cheating incident

The furor around Doris Chen's DQ from LPGA qualifying at the weekend has taken a new twist with Chen's caddie Alex Valer claiming his player deliberately tried to cover up the incident.

“It’s a mess,” Valer told Randall Mell of The Golf Channel. “Doris did the wrong thing. I’m just trying to do the right thing, to be fair to all those players at Q-Series who have worked so hard for a whole year.”

Valer says he was frustrated with Chen’s version of what happened off the 17th fairway at Pinehurst No. 7 on Friday. When Chen got to her ball, she found it was in bounds but reports state that it was moved from an out of bounds position. Chen played the ball and since she didn’t penalize herself before teeing off on the next hole she was disqualified. Several eyewitnesses said it was her mother who moved her ball.

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Chen, who sent out a lengthy note on Twitter on Sunday, also talked to Mell about what happened. She said a spectator eventually found her ball in pine needles next to a tree.

“A homeowner came to me and said she saw somebody kick the ball from a good lie to a bad lie,” Chen said. “She did not mention that the ball was out of bounds.”

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An out of bounds sign yesterday...

Chen, however, wasn’t sure if the homeowner’s theory was accurate, mainly because the home wasn’t located directly near the ball. Chen also said she still thought she was allowed to play the ball without penalty.

“Apparently, the homeowner told the LPGA later that the ball was moved from out of bounds to in bounds,” Chen said. “I swear to God that is not what she told me. My caddie was a witness. He heard it.”

Except her caddie is not supporting this chain of events. Valer insists it was actually Chen’s mother who found the ball — even though Chen said her mother was further up on the hole and “doesn’t know what happened.”

According to Valer, the homeowner pointed at Chen’s mother and said, “That person right there kicked your ball.”

It's quite simple really. Either it is or it isn't...

Valer didn’t know if the ball was out of bounds before it was allegedly moved, but he told Chen they needed to call a rules official. She declined, and when he brought it up again later she told him to keep quiet about the details. Chen was later disqualified after the LPGA spoke to the homeowner and Valer.

“I’ve never been in a position like this before,” Valer said, “and I’m just trying to do what’s right.”

What a pig's breakfast of a situation...

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