From the Sidelines: PGA golfer can serve as a lesson for athletes, coaches everywhere
By Cody Lillich
You may be glancing at this story thinking why are we even mentioning golf? Well the act last weekend by the PGA’s Brian Davis goes well beyond golf and could apply to any sport.
We often see commercials about courtesy and honesty featuring athletes admitting they committed a foul/penalty, despite the infraction not being called by officials, but have we ever seen it done on the court or on the field? I know I’ve never seen it, and if something usually happens, the excuse is typically ‘well it’s okay if the referee/umpire didn’t call it.’ That argument may be true, but a move in the golfing world could serve as a huge lesson to fans, athletes and coaches everywhere.
Last weekend, Davis, who has never won a PGA tournament, was on a playoff hole after being tied with Jim Furyk at the Verizon Heritage Tournament in South Carolina. Davis’ shot went a bit off, hit some rocks, and landed in some sand near some reeds.
Davis’ shot after that is where he will be known as the face of honesty in a sport that needs a better image after all the Tiger saga.
On his backswing of the shot, Davis’ club barely nicked a reed, which is a violation of the PGA rules. Knowing he had done so, he called the PGA tournament director over to report it and to have it reviewed.
The PGA looked at the video and saw the rule stating a player cannot move a “loose impediment.” The two-shot penalty was enforced, basically taking the victory away from Davis.
If you think this honesty is just something over two shots, you’re very wrong. Furyk took away nearly $1.03 million from the victory, while Davis earned $615,000.
But Davis did not just earn the money from the victory but maybe he will turn some heads and give a real life example to athletes, coaches and fans to admit when you’ve done wrong. Davis’ self-report might have cost him his first victory and $400,000, but the class he showed and the respect he gained from the sporting world will be paying off for a long time to come.