Stephen Dartnall
IN PHOTO: Stephen Dartnall of Australia looks at his shot on the 17th hole during the Australian Open golf tournament in Sydney December 12, 2008. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz REUTERS/Daniel Munoz

Australian professional golfer Stephen Dartnall was reportedly caught drink driving in Queenstown on March 16. Dartnall was later convicted and asked to pay fine worth $700 in addition to court fees worth $130.

Dartnall has been pulled over by police authorities on suspicion of drink-driving at 12:15 a.m. on March 15 in Arthurs Point Road, Queenstown, Otago Daily Times reports. The 30-year-old Perth native golfer submitted himself to a roadside breathalyser test and the result showed that he was guilty of drink driving.

The report said that Dartnall recorded a breath-alcohol level of 718 mcg, which is 187 percent above the legal limit. The maximum value of blood alcohol concentration is 250 mcg, regardless if a person considers himself drunk or not.

Dartnell appeared before Judge Tony Couch at the Queenstown District Court following his arrest. He admitted his mistake and said that there were no excuses for his wrongdoing.

“This is something I don’t condone at all,” Dartnall said. “It’s just terrible, I feel horrible doing it.”

According to Police Officer Sergeant Ian Collin, Dartnall didn’t reveal the reason why he drove even though he was intoxicated. Dartnall reportedly said that he was only trying to get home. Dartnall was supposed to catch a flight to Australia at 4:15 p.m. on the same day he was arrested.

Dartnall turned professional in 2007 and competed in 114 events since then. He has participated in Nationwide Tour from 2007 until 2011. He also competes in the OneAsia tour. Some of Dartnall’s best performances up to date include a T3 finish at the 2008 Australian Open, a T4 finish at the 2009 Michael Hill New Zealand Open, a T4 finish at the 2013 Victorian Open, a T3 finish at the 2014 Mission Hills Haikou Open and a T4 finish at the 2014 Coca-Cola Queensland PGA Championship.

This year, Dartnall has competed in three tournaments, namely, Oates Victorian Open Championship, Mercedes-Benz Truck & Bus Victorian PGA Championship and BMW New Zealand Open Championship. He achieved his career-high year-end rank as World No. 384 in 2014. Dartnall currently ranks as World No. 388 in the latest official world rankings.

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