Retired Australian Football League star and aspiring professional golfer Jason Akermanis has been banned from the Thurgoona Country Club Resort Course in New South Wales, Australia, for a month following an allegation of cheating, according to a report by the Daily Mail.
Akermanis was a 15-year veteran of the AFL, and, per the Newcastle Herald, has recently been pursuing a career in professional golf.
According the the report by the Daily Mail, a Thurgoona member alleges that he saw Akermanis playing the ball from out-of-bounds on the third hole, while another club member claims he witnessed Akermanis sign for a four when in reality he had a six.
“I knew he was watching,” Akermanis told the Herald Sun regarding the scoring allegation. “My first ball was in for four and I told my playing partners to watch this so I had a bit of a play around.”
As far as the out-of-bounds allegation, Akermanis doesn’t sound too worried. “I’ve never had any trouble at any other club,” he told the Daily Mail. “This was the sixth time I’ve had issues there and I’m not going back.”
The former footballer has recently dedicated himself to qualifying for the Australasian PGA Tour. The Newcastle Herald reports that Akermanis was playing in seven competitions a week to prepare himself.
In addition to the golf course at Thurgoona, he also frequents several other courses in the New South Wales area.
“When I retired from footy, I wanted to play on the Seniors Tour but now I’ve progressed this far I’m keen to give it a go,” Akermanis told the Newcastle Herald. “I’ve been a good golfer for a bit but I never thought I was going to be good enough. Then I started caddying for ‘Muz’ [Zach Murray] and I got a new set of clubs from TaylorMade and all of a sudden I was training every day and hitting the ball 40-metres longer. I’ve started to score better and my handicap has come right in.”
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