Cheating in golf has a relatively low threshold for scandal. Why? Because it is so easy to cheat and anyone can do it. DeChambeau found himself embroiled in golf’s most recent high-profile rules scandal at The OpenGettyHow could one possibly tell whether their playing partner dropped a ball from their pocket while searching in the trees? Or entered a tournament with a deliberately higher handicap? This is a sport which places increased responsibility on its players to show honour and resist the obvious temptation to cheat while nobody is looking – especially with prizes on the line.Or, at least, when they think nobody is looking.Tour golfers are under constant CCTV surveillance by virtue of being on television, as seen most recently when Bryson DeChambeau was adjudged to have improved his lie at The Open, sparking one of those aforementioned scandals. How dare he!But golf has never seen anything quite like what amateur golfer Zach Holland did at WingHaven Country Club in Missouri.We are having our very own ‘Clicky Ponting’ moment after village cricketer Brian Devine went viral and became national news last month.The Saltburn CC player was exposed for clicking at first slip as the ball passed the opposition bat, tricking umpires into hearing the sound of an outside edge. What happened?Ex-college golfer Holland has been caught red-handed in one of the most elaborate cheating plots in golf history at a random member-member tournament. Here’s what happened: Holland was made aware of a communal prize fund, built from member contributions, in the unlikely event of a hole-in-one during the day’s play. Teeing off in the first group, he told playing partners that he was expecting a phone call regarding a seriously ill grandmother, and would have no choice but to take it.A hole-in-one can often come with a lucrative prize, as well as a hefty bar tabGettyThis call came on the third hole, where Holland subsequently said he would run ahead to the par-three fourth, hit his shot, and meet them afterwards to keep up with the pace of play.Once they were reunited at the fourth, Holland reported that he ‘thinned’ his tee shot and did not see where it ended up, but that there was a pitchmark on the green. As they searched for his ball, it was eventually found at the bottom of the cup, sparking jubilant scenes among the players, believing Holland had made a hole-in-one. However, because the shot was not witnessed by anyone, it immediately sparked scepticism among other members.A superintendent was called in. ‘No problem,’ he told the group. ‘We’ve got cameras by that hole’. And this is where it all came crashing down. CCTV footage showed Holland parking his car by the fourth green before the round began. @rjisntfunny Is this not the craziest cheating story you’ve ever heard? This story was confirmed by Winghaven GC and the golfer himself who committed the act on The Morning After show on ESPN. #golf #cheater #sports #pga ♬ original sound – RJ Plunkett Knowing his group would be the first to arrive on No.4 that day, he was seen putting a ball in the hole and creating a pitchmark on the green. Busted.AftermathLike the cricket scandal, the level of attention this is getting is not down to the event’s importance, but the sheer audacity of the scheme.And he would have got away with it too, if it weren’t for those meddling cameras. To be fair to Holland, besides crediting him with an undeniable (if possibly evil) level of genius, he has taken full accountability. The golfer has since resigned his membership and gone to the American press to admit his wrongdoing. “You do something as dumb as I did, there are consequences for that,” Holland said during an interview with ‘The Morning After’ show on 101 ESPN St. Louis.Holland went as far as to create a pitchmark to give the illusion of a ball having landed on the greenGettyHe added: “There’s no excuse for what I did, and I was completely in the wrong.“There’s really no motivation. Just complete stupidity, and we were giving two shots back to the field and that’s not an excuse. There’s no excuse for what happened.”Sinister twist The golf club released a statement insisting the case was closed but, such is the internet, not everyone was willing to let it slide. Holland has received widespread abuse which has also been directed at his wife and two kids. “I made a terrible mistake,” he said. “The lack of moral character – I can take the banter and the chatter and the heat because I deserve that from a golf perspective.“What I am most worried about is my family. It’s not fair to them for me to put them in that situation where when they walk through a room, there is a stigma there that your dad is a [cheater]. “So questions that they may get asked or be getting asked down the road, that’s the worst part. The golf is secondary.”