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Texas family pleads guilty to Masters lottery fraud

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Augusta National

On Monday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia announced that four members of a Texas family had pled guilty to wire fraud charges after admitting their role in an “elaborate” scheme to fraudulently obtain Masters tickets and resell them for a sizeable profit.

Per the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s release, the Freeman’s confessed to purchasing a bulk list and used its names and addresses to create several fake accounts in the Masters lottery. When an account that the Freeman’s had created was offered tickets, Stephen Freeman would create counterfeit drivers licenses, utility bills and credit card statements to convince Augusta to change the winning mailing address to one that his family controlled – then selling the tickets at a steep mark-up.

Stephen Freeman appeared before a U.S. District Court in Augusta, GA, and agreed to a sentence of three years in federal prison and $157,493.70 in community restitution, after admitting to a charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

Both Freeman’s parents, as well as his sister, agreed to the same crime but will serve no jail time, with each agreeing to pay $59,000 each in community restitution.

Speaking on the case, FBI agent Chris Hacker said in a statement

“This scheme was designed to profit from the resale of tickets, but in the process, it also would have denied legitimate citizens a fair chance to obtain tickets to a prestigious golf tournament.

We hope that this case sends a message that the FBI will make it a priority to investigate these cases, and if you get caught, you will pay the price.”

All four defendants still face sentencing before a federal judge, who will accept or reject each individuals plea deals.

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Gianni is the Managing Editor at GolfWRX. He can be contacted at [email protected].

19th Hole

“Is it a Titleist?” – Jerry Seinfeld shares never-before-heard details of iconic scene

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On Thursday, legendary comedian Jerry Seinfeld joined the Rich Eisen Show and shared an awesome story from a “Seinfeld” episode titled “The Marine Biologist.”

In the episode, a golf ball goes into the blow hole of a whale. According to Seinfeld, that was never in the episode’s script.

Seinfeld recalls saying the night before the filming of the episode, “What if what puts the whale in distress is Kramer’s golf ball?”

“He’s hitting golf balls at the beach. George is at the beach with a girl, we haven’t connected them!”

“We write that speech the night before at two o’clock in the morning…The sea was angry that day my friend.”

 

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A post shared by Rich Eisen (@richeisen)


Kramer finishes the iconic scene by asking “Is it a Titleist?” Seinfeld told Eisen the show sought Titleist’s permission to mention its name, saying the ball had to be a Titleist. Fortunately for lovers of the iconic show, the company agreed.

If (somehow) you’re unfamiliar with the scene, check it out below.

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Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game ‘on a much more global basis’

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While speaking with Bloomberg, golf legend Phil Mickelson acknowledged that he is inching close towards retirement.

“I’m 53 now,” Phil said, “and my career, you know, it’s — if I’m being truthful, it’s on — it’s — it’s — I’m a — it’s towards its end.”

Mickelson added that one of his focuses now is helping other young players.

“Now, I would like to help others find the same enjoyment and fulfillment that the game has provided me. I’d like them to experience that as well.”

The six-time major champion credited LIV with reaching new markets in golf to help it grow.

“I think that’s exciting for everyone involved in the game because we are going to reach markets that we didn’t reach before. I think it’s going to inspire more golf courses, inspire more manufacturers selling clubs and equipment, but also inspiring young kids to try to play golf professionally. I just see that the game of golf is going to grow on a much more global basis because of the excitement and the presence that LIV Golf has.”

Mickelson is playing at this week’s LIV Singapore and shot a first round 72 (+1).

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Tiger explains why golf has ‘negative connotations’ for daughter Sam

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While Tiger Woods’ son, Charlie, has certainly inherited his father’s love for golf, his daughter, Sam, has not.

On Wednesday, Tiger made an appearance on The Today Show with Carson Daly and explained his daughter’s relationship with golf.

“Golf has negative connotations for her. When she was growing up, golf took daddy away from her. I had to pack, I had to leave, and I was gone for weeks. So, there were negative connotations to it.

“We developed our own relationship and our own rapport outside of golf. We do things that doesn’t involve golf. Meanwhile, my son and I, everything we do is golf related.”

The nine-minute interview touches on plenty of other subjects, such as Tiger’s relationship with his late father, Earl.

It’s arguably the most open we’ve seen the 15-time major champion in an interview and is most definitely worth watching.

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