The European Tour Group has suspended a player for 10 tournaments due to ‘reckless’ rules of golf infringements.
Cedric Gugler was disqualified during the first round of the Raiffeisenbank Golf Challenge on the HotelPlanner Tour (formerly the Challenge Tour), after playing his ball from the wrong place on multiple occasions on putting surfaces.
On November 3, the Independent Disciplinary Panel subsequently found that Gugler’s conduct was a serious breach of the Tour’s Code of Behaviour, and that he conducted himself in a manner that fell below the standards expected of tour members.
He is suspended from the first 10 HotelPlanner Tour events of the 2026 season, the first of which begins in South Africa on January 29.
The group that administers both the DP World Tour and the HotelPlanner Tour have thrown the book at the 25-year-old from Switzerland who recently competed at the Final Stage of DP World Tour Q-School.
“Dear friends. As some of you may have heard, I have been suspended by the European Tour for the first ten HotelPlanner Tour tournaments of the upcoming season,” Gugler wrote on social media.
“As an athlete who has played golf since the age of six, and for whom fairness, respect and sportsmanship have always been top priorities, this is of course a very difficult moment.
“I have been accused of not marking or replacing my ball correctly on the green during the first round of the Kaskada Golf Challenge. This is what my playing partners reported to the tournament officials after the round.
“My mistake was that, during the initial hearing in the tournament office on the same evening, I somewhat carelessly admitted that it might have been possible, out of simple inattentiveness – that the ball was not placed back on the same spot. However, it was never my intention to gain any sort of advantage.
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“Unfortunately, this imprecise statement triggered a long and burdensome process, which has now resulted in this decision. I deeply regret this mishap. I accept the decision, and I will use it as motivation to be even more careful in future – especially when marking and replacing my ball on the greens.
“Thank you all for your support during this difficult time.”
HotelPlanner Tour player suspended for 10 events
After the event, which was held in the Czech Republic in June, Gugler played in seven more events on the HotelPlanner Tour.
He made one appearance on the DP World Tour this season, and mostly played on the HotelPlanner Tour, during which he failed to break the top 10.
NCG reached out to the DP World Tour for comment, but no more details could be provided.
After the first 10 events of the HotelPlanner Tour season, he will be allowed to return. Gugler is ranked 875th in the world rankings, and is yet to win on the DP World Tour or the HotelPlanner Tour.
In 2024, he came tied for fourth at the Omega European Masters, which was the sole DP World Tour event he played in 2025, where he missed the cut. This was also the tournament where he made his DP World Tour debut in 2018.
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