Heather Angell, PGA made her return to the LPGA KPMG Championship last week in Frisco, Texas, and there have been incorrect media reports about the circumstances surrounding her disqualification from the tournament after the first day of play.
Angell is the Director of Instruction at The Golf Club at Fiddler’s Creek in Naples, Florida. Her fifth-place finish in the 2024 LPGA National Championship secured her spot in the 2025 KPMG tournament for the second time in seven years. This tournament appearance was an encore to her twelve-year career as a playing professional on the LPGA Symetra and Canadian Women’s Tours, during which she had first, second, and third place tournament finishes. Health issues required her to leave the ranks of the touring pros in 2016, but Angell continues to compete when schedule permits.
“I am extremely proud to have been able to keep my game at a level that earned me the opportunity to once again compete with the best female players in the world and represent the PGA of America, my South Florida PGA Section, my club, and my students. I clearly did not bring my best game to the first day of the tournament, largely due to health issues involving the heat, which dramatically affected my heart rate and blood sugar,” Angell said.
“On the par 4, 16th hole, my 7th hole of the day, my scorecard and my playing partner’s scorecard, which was my official scorecard, both reflected a 5 for me. After the round in the scoring area, I was made aware that there was a scoring discrepancy, but was not given any specific details. I inquired if the walking scorer had different scores for me and was told, yes. The scorer had asked my caddie and me during play of our last hole if he could review my scores, as he was unsure of the accuracy of his scorekeeping. I told him I would be happy to go over them after the round, but he disappeared after play was finished, so I did not have the opportunity to correct any inaccuracies he might have had.”
“I understand that the walking scorers are volunteers and they are taking time out of their day to help us. I am always grateful for the volunteers, as the tournaments would not happen without them. I also understand that their information is not always correct due to the difficulty of keeping up with the entire group’s scores. Their information is sometimes just used in case there is a question, but when the player and the marker are in agreement, there is usually no issue. However, the PGA representative in the scoring area released me without informing me that there is a new 15-minute grace period during which any score discrepancies must be resolved, without penalty or disqualification. As a PGA member participating in the event and not being an active tour player who might be aware of this policy, I feel that it was the PGA’s responsibility to alert me if I needed to stay. If that had happened, I would have remained in the scoring area until all was resolved to rectify any scoring discrepancy,” Angell said.
“Approximately 45 minutes later, I received a call from the Chief Championships Officer letting me know I had signed an incorrect scorecard and would be disqualified. I returned to the course to discuss the matter, but was told the grace period to rectify the discrepancy was over. I was told that the walking scorers’ difference in score prompted them to review Shotlink. I was shown Shotlink screenshots of my purported 6 shots and spliced and edited video. I was told it would take too long to show me the full video. The Shotlink scorecard even showed a 5 for my score and a 5 for the Shotlink score. When I inquired about the matching 5s for my score and Shotlink’s score on hole 16, I was told, ‘Well, you had a 6.’” Angell continued.
“The Chief Championships Officer informed me that a “DQ” would be placed next to my name on the scoreboard and if the tournament was asked, they would say it was due to Rule 3-3b, Incorrect Scorecard. I was told no other details would be shared.” Angell stated. “I woke up the next morning to find details had been shared across all golf media outlets as the story of the tournament and I was portrayed as maliciously altering my score.”
Angell doesn’t care about the score. “I am not releasing a statement to argue whether I scored a 5 or a 6 on that hole; I am releasing a statement because my integrity has been called into question, and I cannot let that stand. There was confusion, lack of communication, and unclear digital scoring. Those three factors led to the discrepancy in scoring. I was not in any way trying to alter my true score for the round that day. I am a highly respected PGA professional, and I want to address the media reports that incorrectly asserted I was surreptitiously attempting to improve my score. This was simply a matter of a lack of communication on multiple fronts after a tough day on the course. End of story.”
For more information: Heather Angell, golfangell@pga.com
About Heather Angell:
Angell has been twice named the South Florida PGA Southwest Chapter Teacher of the Year. She won the 2024 South Florida PGA Professional Development Award, the 2021 South Florida PGA Player Development Award, and the 2019 South Florida PGA Southwest Chapter Player Development Award. Angell is a four-time GRAA Top 100 Growth of the Game Instructor and a US Kids Top 50 Instructor. She started the PGA HOPE Program in Fort Myers and the All-Ladies PGA HOPE Program in Southwest Florida. She has been nominated for the PGA National Player Development Award three times. Her high-level competitive play began as a member of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill women’s golf team. She earned a Master’s Degree in Sport Management from High Point University and was an Adjunct Professor in the Professional Golf Management Program at Florida Gulf Coast University for 6 years.
