CerinoDevoti:I have a friend who's a TM and he ended up winning a weekly and one RG because WGT DQ'd the players in front of him on the leaderboard.
I believe I'm the friend Cerino is referring to here... and actually, if you'll forgive the correction, I won higher placings in 2 Monthlies because of this:
Here's my perspective...
When I first tried out the official WGT tourneys last spring/summer when I started, I too was in shock at how good the scores were, and I pretty much gave up on them, figuring I had no chance to compete.
Now that I know more, and have seen WGT's efforts to crack down on the multi's, I have to say I'm very impressed with what they're doing.
Around year-end, by then a Tour Pro, I tried my hand at the paid Monthly tourney, and shot one of those career-best rounds that have been mentioned, a 61 at St A's. I was delighted to squeak into the placings… but amazed some days later to find I'd been upgraded to 2nd, after the leader, one of those whose stunning exploits… (I think he figured in the leading total money winners for the month for a while as a Tour Master?)… got such a lot of coverage in these forums, was DQ'd.
After Tough-It-Out II was over, I was very generously gifted some 'fancy balls', very slow Nikes with more spin, and an absurdly slow meter, than I had a clue how to handle, lol! After getting some idea of what to do with them, and realizing that perhaps this was the secret to coping with a course like Bethpage (on which I'd always struggled), I gave it a shot at the February Master tier open, and again shot a best-ever course round, of 60, to just pip a number of players on 61. I have to say, I did feel as if using that ball was as close to 'cheating' as it comes… but that's a whole other argument!
I'd had a lot of luck, including this eagle on #9, and a best-ever approach to #15 for birdie. Shaking with nerves, I even lucked out my 2nd to 18 getting a handy member bounce, and somehow dropping in the downhill curler. The 60 placed me 2nd, which became 3rd a couple of days later when someone shot 56. I looked into that player's record, and in my naivety, was about to congratulate him on an extraordinary run, winning Pro, TourPro, and Master tier monthly opens… however, he, and the 2nd place finisher, must have been suspect to WGT… and both were DQ'd. Imagine my astonishment when 3rd place turned into 1st!
So, the moral of this long story, I think, is not to give up. If you are one of the honest lower-tier players, finish your round, and shoot the best score you can; even if you think you'll end up out of the top 3 reward placings, you may get a very pleasant surprise.
And if you are a multi-accounter, it really seems as if you may be wasting your time and credits. WGT appears to be able to find you and strip you of your wins. (And I assume that you don't get your entrance fee back!)
I'm seeing a system that's working pretty well. People wonder why it sometimes takes so long for tourneys to be paid out. Well, it seems as if WGT is doing due diligence and investigating the leaders.
It's sad to win a tourney by default, and it would be much more satisfying to be shooting for a real target when you look at a leaderboard, but I have to say it's heartening to know that cheats are being found out.
Thanks for reading,
Corwyn