Cedric Gugler Suspended 10 Tournaments For 'Reckless Infringement Of The Rules Of Golf'

Cedric Gugler has been banned from the first 10 HotelPlanner Tour events of 2026 after repeatedly putting from the wrong place in a tournament back in June

Cedric Gugler was given a 10-tournament ban from the HotelPlanner Tour for repeatedly moving his ball on the putting green during a tournament
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Cedric Gugler has been handed a 10-tournament suspension from the start of the new HotelPlanner Tour season for what's described as a "reckless infringement of the rules of golf" by the European Tour Group.

Gugler was disqualified from the Raiffeisenbank Golf Challenge in the Czech Republic in June after repeated infringements on the greens.

After his disqualification, a disciplinary panel met do discuss Gugler's actions, where it was deemed he had committed "a serious breach of the Tour’s Code of Behaviour" which required sanctioning.

And they have come down hard on Gugler, as he's been banned from the opening 10 tournaments of the 2026 HotelPlanner Tour.

It's an eye-catching decision which illustrates the seriousness of the rule breaches Gugler is found to have made - with the fact he kept repeating the breach a number of times being a big factor in the length of his suspension.

The Swiss golfer will now have to sit out a huge portion of the season on the second tier circuit in European golf, and his reputation will take a big hit from being found guilty of such a transgression.

Golf is still a sport built on trust and honesty, and being found guilty of moving your ball on the greens a number of times during the same tournament goes massively against the spirit of the game.

Official statement from the European Tour group on Cedric Gugler

"The European Tour Group announced today that Cedric Gugler has been sanctioned for breaching its Code of Behaviour in a tournament on the HotelPlanner Tour.

"An Independent Disciplinary Panel, which met on November 3, 2025, found that Gugler had conducted himself in a manner that fell below the standards of behaviour and ethical conduct expected of Tour members during the first round of the Raiffeisenbank Golf Challenge at the Kaskada Golf Resort in the Czech Republic on June 12, 2025.

"He was disqualified from the tournament after playing his ball from the wrong place on putting surfaces on multiple occasions.

"The Independent Disciplinary Panel – comprising Philip Evans KC, sports administrator Ian Larsen and Legends Tour Member Markus Brier - ruled that Gugler’s conduct was a serious breach of the Tour’s Code of Behaviour by virtue of a reckless infringement of the Rules of Golf.

"Because of the serious breach, he has been suspended for the first 10 HotelPlanner Tour events of the season, beginning on January 29, 2026, the day of the Tour’s first tournament of the 2026 season, the SDC Open in South Africa.

"He will be permitted to return after the first ten events have concluded, a date which will be determined once the 2026 HotelPlanner Tour schedule has been finalised and announced."

Paul Higham
Contributor

Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website.  Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush. 

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