“So shines a good deed in a weary world.” — Willy Wonka.
Irony of the week: Both Roger Clemens and Zach Nash played golf this week. But while Clemens was playing to take a break from his federal obstruction of justice trial surrounding the use of steroids, Nash, 14, had a more noble experience on the links. A day after after winning a junior Wisconsin PGA tournament, the boy discovered that he had too many clubs in his bag; which is against tournament rules. So he did what Alex Rodriguez Pete Rose Ben Johnson Tonya Harding Danny Almonte few would have done; he called the tourney director and disqualified himself.
“I knew right away I couldn’t live with myself if I kept this medal, so it was pretty instantaneous,” Nash said during a phone interview from his home in Waterford on Wednesday, his first day of high school.
From The Milwaukee Journal Times:
Nash shot a 77 to win the boys 13-14 age division at the Milwaukee County Parks Tour Invitational, which is run by the Wisconsin PGA Section, on Aug. 11. He beat 31 other players in his division, all while his grandparents from Iowa were watching.
It wasn’t until the next day, after shooting a practice round, that he discovered the extra club.
The penalty for breaking the rule, called rule 4-4, is two strokes for each hole played with more than 14 clubs, with a maximum of four penalty strokes. But since he didn’t notice his extra club during the tournament, a penalty wasn’t added. That meant he signed an incorrect scorecard, which he knew disqualified him.
Nash’s coach, Chris Wood, said Nash made him and the club proud.
“I think most people — not just kids — would have tried to justify in their mind having the extra clubs in their bag and not using them as an excuse to not call and disqualify themselves,” Wood said.
Nash’s father said his son is a regular teenager — he talks back to his parents, picks on his brothers – and was a bit surprised the teenager didn’t consider, just for a moment, keeping the mistake to himself. But he said he did the right thing and he and his wife were proud.
“When I first heard it, when he told me the whole story, I thought, ‘Wow, you are doing the right thing,”‘ Bob Nash said. “You have to keep doing what’s right. But in the back of my mind, I’m thinking ‘If you didn’t say anything the standing wouldn’t change.”‘
In addition to winning the giant, gleaming No-Prize for Honesty from Out of Bounds, I think that Dustin Johnson should invite Nash out for a round of beers Pepsis.
***
Young golfer disqualifies self, gives up medal [Milwaukee Journal Times]
Young golfer’s loss proves he’s a winner [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
Young golfer disqualifies self, gives up medal [NBCSports]
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- The Count - Sep 2, 2010 at 6:40 PM
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There is no reward for honesty. Honesty is to be expected. But, Zach’s parents should be commended for bringing their son up righ, and Zach just insured his future in whatever avenue he takes. Outstanding yound man.
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- Larry - Sep 2, 2010 at 7:13 PM
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The kid will never make it in politics.
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- AZ17 - Sep 2, 2010 at 8:49 PM
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The kid’s got a lot to learn…I mean Tiger had too many women in his bed and never told anyone and is still ranked #1.
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- Angelo - Sep 3, 2010 at 12:13 AM
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“I knew right away I couldn’t live with myself if I kept this medal, so it was pretty instantaneous”
Jesus Christ! I hate jokers like him with a passion. Soft as cotton and a liar to. If there was a prize money of 5 million would he have said something. NO he wouldn’t of so all that “I know I couldn’t live with myself” nonsense, just shut up punk.
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- Joleen North - Sep 3, 2010 at 12:16 AM
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Zach, you’re a winner in my book!
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- doogie - Sep 3, 2010 at 1:15 AM
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You will never know now will you? You are the guy that is just jealous because he never won anything or even competed. Daddy never played with you and mommy didn’t hug you enough. Stay on your couch and be the hater.
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- StakeX - Sep 3, 2010 at 2:53 AM
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Say what you will, but I think its open for debate how right he was to do this. IF he used all 15 clubs, and feels he was at an advantage because of it… then yes, he made the right call.
However, if he didn’t use the club and it had no effect on the outcome of the round… then there was no reason to come forward. He won the tournament, and if he was at no advantage then there is no reason to come forward.
Not to mention that in the real world, such actions just mean one thing… you’re going to finish last alot. Hell, on Tour you’ll never see a top player call themselves on a penelty… its always some middle of the pack player you hear DQed himself or called a huge penelty on himself. Why? Because winners do whatever they can get away with to win…
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- Rob - Sep 3, 2010 at 1:00 PM
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You certainly confirm the meaning of pathetic…
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- Gentlemens game - Sep 3, 2010 at 4:20 PM
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Nice to see all the cynics of the world coming out to trump all the praise. Angelo I guess is a psychic and StakeX does not fully know the rules of golf. The rule is you can have no more than 14 clubs in your bag, period. Angelo, try comparing apples to apples. In a tourney with 5 mil at stake the player would have a caddy whose first task, before the player hits the first shot from the first tee is to make sure the bag is ready.
The thing about golf is you play by the rules and the rules are enforced by the players. If you have any pride and are actually gauging your progress it is important to play by the rules.
Stake also seems to think a top player will not call a penalty on themselves. If they were smart they would before they sign their scorecard because the top players have the largest galleries and the most TV attention. It has happened in the past when a fan called the TV station for what he thought was a penalty and after reviewing the tape it was found that it was. The player was done with his round and had already signed his scorecard so he was DQ’ed.
It is so nice to see the complete loss of faith in humanity. It’s also fun to see that most people just write crap down because they must have a love for crap. Now see if you can figure what parts were sarcasm, or do I need to define that too?
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- gail - Sep 3, 2010 at 4:30 PM
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Unfortunately, you’re dead wrong. At the tournament at Heritage Village after this year’s Masters, the guy in the playoff called a penalty on himself, causing him to lose to Jim Furyk. Whether or not he used the club is irrelevant. When players sign for the wrong score on a hole and are disqualified, is that fair? It’s the only place where players have to keep an accurate score themselves, even though there are scorekeepers following every group. Tour players have knelt on towels to avoid getting wet and have been DQ’d, they’ve grounded their club in hazards (even away from the ball) and been penalized, etc…. Bottom line, if you’re going to play, do it by the rules. There are already too many golfers that don’t…
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- Austin - Sep 4, 2010 at 11:18 AM
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Zach, Good for you! The less honorable thinking and comments reflect why this country’s state of affairs is in such bad shape. I’ve been playing golf for less than a year, and understand the struggle to stringently apply all the rules, have a good time, and card a score that’s reasonably accurate and fair. Zach, you’re doing the right thing for yourself! Aus http://golffoodie.blogspot.com/
