Posted by Jason Sobel
J.P. Hayes' recent decision to disqualify himself from the second stage of the PGA Tour qualifying tournament after inadvertently playing with a nonconforming golf ball has elicited deserved applause from those who respect his honesty. The decision also has sparked debate over why such practice isn't applied to other sports.
Of course, such glorification for this gesture will appear a bit overblown in golf's inner circle, where it goes without saying that this was the only proper conclusion. As Bobby Jones said after receiving commendation for issuing himself a 2-stroke penalty during a playoff in the 1925 U.S. Open, "You may as well praise a man for not robbing a bank."
Hayes may have done a little more than
not rob a bank, but his resolution is hardly uncommon in the golf world. In a sport governed not just by rules but also on a strict constitution called the "Rules of Golf," self-imposed penalties are frequently incurred in some of the direst of situations.
Here are three other recent examples that come to mind:
• At the 2005 British Open,
David Toms was unsure as to whether his ball moved after addressing a short double-bogey putt on the 17th hole of the first round. Toms didn't include the penalty on his scorecard, and although no one questioned him about it, he returned the next morning and told officials that he may have breached the rule, then promptly disqualified himself from the tournament.
• At the 2007 Honda Classic,
Mark Wilson's caddie mistakenly told playing partner
Camilo Villegas what club his man had hit prior to Villegas' tee shot on the fifth hole of Round 2. Minutes later, Wilson realized the error, which violated Rule 8-1, and he assessed himself a 2-stroke penalty. He won the tournament in a Monday morning playoff three days later.
• At the 2008 Masters, University of Alabama senior Michael Thompson was facing a birdie putt on the 15th hole that would move him to 3-over-par and safely inside the tournament cut line, ensuring his status for the prestigious rank of low amateur for the week. Like Toms, Thompson thought he noticed his ball move a fraction of an inch after addressing it with his putter. Unlike Toms, he imposed a penalty right away, but then missed the subsequent putt and later failed to reach the weekend round.
Of course, those differed from Hayes' predicament because although each was an individual instance with tournament stakes on the line, the players' overall employment status didn't necessarily hinge on the decision.
But don't cry for Hayes just yet. As the 176th-ranked player on this year's PGA Tour money list and having failed to reach the final stage of Q-school, he won't be a fully exempt member for the 2009 season. That doesn't mean he won't be able to ply his craft, though.
As a multiple champion -- he won the 1998 Buick Classic and 2002 John Deere Classic -- Hayes won't be limited in the number of sponsor's exemptions he can receive throughout the year. Based on the current prevailing feelings toward Hayes' ethical maneuver, don't be surprised if tournament sponsors are ringing his phone off the hook this week in hopes of lining him up as a special invite for their upcoming events. In fact, such an outreach could lead to a scenario in which Hayes is actually able to enter more tourneys than if he had simply swept the incident under the rug, continued on to the final stage of Q-school and qualified through those means.
Call it karma or coincidence, but the golf gods have a way of rewarding those who adhere to the Rules. In this case, honesty was the best policy, and that policy may pay off dividends for Hayes next season. Let's hope so, at least.
