Latest news with #RoyalMid-SurreyGolfClub
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Royal club forced to let ‘cheating' golfer back on fairway
A royal golf club that kicked out a member accused of cheating has been forced to let her back on the fairway. Rina Rohilla had her membership at the Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Club, where King Edward VIII was once captain, terminated after being accused of fiddling her scores in September 2019. She sued, claiming she was unfairly booted out because she was unpopular with some members of a 'core clique' at the club. Ms Rohilla said 'chief amongst them' was the vice-captain Beverley Mayes, with complaints made in an email about her 'gamesmanship, the terrible way in which she treats her opponents' and comments that 'her traits/mannerisms/conduct are certainly not as we would want from a member'. She has now won her legal fight to force the club to take her back after a judge ruled in her favour. Giving judgment, Judge Andrew Holmes said there was a 'clear dislike' for Ms Rohilla among some at the club. He said some 'minds were made up' about her guilt soon after she was accused and that there had been 'clear bias' against her, with a 'clear desire to secure her expulsion.' 'I found Ms Rohilla to be an honest witness and I found no basis upon which I could have concluded that she was lying to me when she denied that she had changed the scores.' Central London County Court heard Ms Rohilla, an insolvency practitioner, had joined the club in 2003 and was devoted to golf. But her expulsion from the club stemmed from her participation in the Harare 125 Bowl competition in September 2019, during which she played a round with two golfers. Her score was marked by opponent Eva Haupt and when, after the round, she went to log her score in the computer in the clubhouse, she did so using the scores on Ms Haupt's card, which turned out to be wrong. Instead of sixes on holes three and six, the scores had been rubbed out and replaced with fives. Ms Rohilla recorded the fives and was immediately challenged and accused of making the alteration herself. She denied cheating, but the matter was passed on to the club's Captain's Committee and subsequently the General Management Committee (GMC), which terminated her membership. After an investigation, the club found that she had cheated by altering the scores on the scorecard, which she then entered into the computer. But in court, Mr Crow argued that some club members had 'smelled blood' after the allegation and assumed her guilt. He claimed the decision-making process was 'fundamentally flawed' and that Ms Rohilla was not provided a 'fair opportunity' to defend herself as she was not given adequate notice of the case against her. Ruling in her favour after last month's trial, Judge Holmes said the decision to kick her out was a 'breach of natural justice' and 'breach of contract.' However, he said there was 'no evidence to support any suggestion that anyone in the club was motivated in any way by Ms Rohilla's race.' The judge ordered that she be reinstated as a member and awarded £1,000 compensation for 'injury to feelings.' The club began in 1892 and gained Royal status by command of King George V in 1926. It was transformed by five times Open Champion John Henry Taylor into two 18-hole courses across 296 acres of land next to Kew Gardens. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
26-03-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Royal club forced to let ‘cheating' golfer back on fairway
A royal golf club that kicked out a member accused of cheating has been forced to let her back on the fairway. Rina Rohilla had her membership at the Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Club, where King Edward VIII was once captain, terminated after being accused of fiddling her scores in September 2019. She sued, claiming she was unfairly booted out because she was unpopular with some members of a 'core clique' at the club. Ms Rohilla said 'chief amongst them' was the vice-captain Beverley Mayes, with complaints made in an email about her 'gamesmanship, the terrible way in which she treats her opponents' and comments that 'her traits/mannerisms/conduct are certainly not as we would want from a member'. She has now won her legal fight to force the club to take her back after a judge ruled in her favour. Giving judgment, Judge Andrew Holmes said there was a 'clear dislike' for Ms Rohilla among some at the club. 'Clear desire' to evict golfer He said some 'minds were made up' about her guilt soon after she was accused and that there had been 'clear bias' against her, with a 'clear desire to secure her expulsion.' 'I found Ms Rohilla to be an honest witness and I found no basis upon which I could have concluded that she was lying to me when she denied that she had changed the scores.' Central London County Court heard Ms Rohilla, an insolvency practitioner, had joined the club in 2003 and was devoted to golf. But her expulsion from the club stemmed from her participation in the Harare 125 Bowl competition in September 2019, during which she played a round with two golfers. Her score was marked by opponent Eva Haupt and when, after the round, she went to log her score in the computer in the clubhouse, she did so using the scores on Ms Haupt's card, which turned out to be wrong. Instead of sixes on holes three and six, the scores had been rubbed out and replaced with fives. Ms Rohilla recorded the fives and was immediately challenged and accused of making the alteration herself. She denied cheating, but the matter was passed on to the club's Captain's Committee and subsequently the General Management Committee (GMC), which terminated her membership. After an investigation, the club found that she had cheated by altering the scores on the scorecard, which she then entered into the computer. But in court, Mr Crow argued that some club members had 'smelled blood' after the allegation and assumed her guilt. He claimed the decision-making process was 'fundamentally flawed' and that Ms Rohilla was not provided a 'fair opportunity' to defend herself as she was not given adequate notice of the case against her. Ruling in her favour after last month's trial, Judge Holmes said the decision to kick her out was a 'breach of natural justice' and 'breach of contract.' However, he said there was 'no evidence to support any suggestion that anyone in the club was motivated in any way by Ms Rohilla's race.' The judge ordered that she be reinstated as a member and awarded £1,000 compensation for 'injury to feelings.' The club began in 1892 and gained Royal status by command of King George V in 1926. It was transformed by five times Open Champion John Henry Taylor into two 18-hole courses across 296 acres of land next to Kew Gardens.
Telegraph
05-02-2025
- Telegraph
Golfer kicked out of club ‘for cheating' claims she was victim of racism
A golfer accused of cheating in a competition claims that she was kicked out of her club because of 'unconscious' racism. Rina Rohilla had her membership at the Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Club, where King Edward VIII was club captain, terminated after she was accused of fiddling her scores in September 2019. Ms Rohilla, an insolvency practitioner and club member for 16 years, was accused of rubbing out and re-entering her scores on two holes, bringing her total down by two strokes after a competition. She is now suing the club for £37,000 in damages at Central London county court and seeking an injunction that would force them to take her back. She denies she cheated and claims the decision to remove her from the club was partly motivated by 'unconscious bias' because of her ethnicity. Ms Rohilla insists there was 'an element' of racism in the decision and alleges she was victim of a 'stitch-up' because other members saw her as a 'bad egg' who 'didn't belong'. However, the club is fighting the claim, denying accusations of unconscious racial bias and arguing that Ms Rohilla was thrown out for no other reason than because she cheated. Judge Andrew Holmes heard Ms Rohilla had joined the club, which gained Royal status by command of King George V in 1926, in 2003 and was devoted to golf. The 'Almost universally disliked' Josh Crow, Ms Rohilla's barrister, told the judge that she had found herself 'unpopular' with 'a core clique' at the club, including elements of its management. One club member complained in an email about her 'gamesmanship, the terrible way in which she treats her opponents and how difficult it is to arrange matches with her', while another said 'her traits/mannerisms/conduct are certainly not as we would want from a member,' noting that she is 'almost universally disliked'. Her expulsion from the club stemmed from her participation in the Harare 125 Bowl competition in September 2019, during which she played a round with two fellow female golfers. Her score was marked by opponent Eva Haupt and when, after the round, Ms Rohilla went to log her result in the clubhouse computer, she did so using the scores on Ms Haupt's card. However, instead of sixes on two of the holes, the scores had been rubbed out and replaced with fives. Ms Rohilla then entered the fives into the computer and was immediately challenged and accused of making the alteration herself. She steadfastly denied cheating, but the matter was passed onto the club's Captain's Committee and then General Management Committee (GMC), which terminated her membership. After an investigation, the club found that she had cheated by altering the scorecard and recording the result on the computer. 'Tried to set a trap for her' But challenging the decision in court, Ms Rohilla's barrister denied that she had changed the scorecard, suggesting it was a simple mistake by Ms Haupt. Mr Crow also said that Sophie Warner, the third golfer playing with Ms Rohilla that day, knew that the scorecard was wrong and had tipped off Dean Rodgers, the assistant professional in the clubhouse, before it was logged on the computer. Instead of pointing out the discrepancy to Ms Rohilla, however, Ms Warner had sought 'to try to set a trap' for her, the barrister said. Mr Crow argued that the decision was 'arbitrary, capricious and unfair', motivated by personal dislike and racial discrimination as she had been seen as a 'bad egg' within the club. He added that the 'only plausible explanation is that Ms Warner was intending to frame Ms Rohilla for signing an incorrect scorecard'. 'No way I would change it' Giving evidence, Ms Rohilla told the judge that, although she did not know all members of the Captain's Committee, they came to make the decision with 'a perception that I was difficult or people didn't like me'. For the club, Paul Nicholls KC asked: 'Are you still suggesting that those who took the decision did so on grounds of your race?' Ms Rohilla replied: 'I think there was an element of it, yes.' When told that two members of the committee came from Indian backgrounds, she said that not once in over a century had a club captain been a 'person of colour'. She denied having doctored the scorecard, telling the judge she did not see the midweek competition, which carried a prize of £25, as important and would not have risked lowering her handicap for more crucial weekend competitions. 'No way would I change it,' she said. Her barrister asked the judge to impose an injunction, forcing the club to reinstate Ms Rohilla as a member, as well as to award her some £37,500 in compensation. It was heard that golf had been her 'entire life' outside work and her expulsion has caused 'severe mental distress, anxiety and disappointment' and a 'loss of reputation by being labelled a dishonest cheat'. But for the club, Mr Nicholls argued that the club's committee was 'plainly entitled to conclude that the claimant had altered her scores and thus cheated'. 'The claimant has not adduced any evidence to support the proposition that those who made the decision were actuated by personal dislike or her ethnicity,' he said. The trial continues.
