April 20, 2010, - 1:41 pm
Think Tiger Woods Would Do This?: Meet the World’s Most Honest Athlete
Three cheers to pro golfer Brian Davis. His extreme honesty and self-imposed penalty cost him victory and several hundred thousand dollars in the Verizon Heritage golf tournament on Sunday.
Golfer Brian Davis: The Anti-Tiger Woods
The Brit penalized himself two strokes on a playoff hole, and as I read this, I thought, Tiger Woods would never do this. The man simply doesn’t have the integrity of Davis. Never had it, never will.
Brian Davis of Great Britain might have cost himself a chance for a PGA Tour victory when he called a penalty on himself during a playoff hole in the Verizon Heritage on Sunday. The two-stroke penalty, for nicking a loose reed during his backswing, locked up the win for Jim Furyk.
Golf is a game of honor and honesty, even if it might cost you around $400,000, the difference between first place ($1,026,000) and second place ($615,000). . . .
Brian Dryfhout, writing at mouthpiecesports.com, seems to think honor might be ingrained in players from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
“Davis’ decision has earned him a lot of respect in the golf world. Who in their right mind would call a two-shot penalty, during a playoff, upon himself? I guess golf is still a gentleman’s game of honor … especially for the English.”
“… It is great to see a man choose honesty over money.”
Jay Busbee at Yahoo Sports hopes Davis’ honesty will pay off in the long run:
“The guy gave away a chance at winning his first-ever PGA Tour event because he knew that in golf, honesty is more important than victory. It’s a tough lesson to learn, but here’s hoping he gets accolades — and, perhaps, some sponsorship deals — that more than make up for the victory he surrendered.”
So, when does Tiger Woods learn that lesson? Why would he, when this story about Davis’ honesty and integrity is getting little play, while Himbo Woods and his harem of hoochiemamas gets all the publicity.
Oh, and BTW, last week, I showed you the ridiculous USA Today Sports Section cover when Phil Mickelson won the Masters. The photo sizes made it look like Woods won for certain, even though he barely tied for fourth place. Well, People Magazine did the same boneheaded BS in its latest issue. Check out the photos, below:
Tags: Brian Davis, Golf, golf tournament, Great Britain, penalty, PGA PGA Tour, Verizon Heritage
Debbie,
I thought you might enjoy this story about Phil.
Phil Mickelson helps Conrad Dobler’s Family:
“Whenever Phil Mickelson is out there doing his job, the Dobler family is watching closely, from a distance. “Never even met Phil, never even talked to him, although I would like to, for obvious reasons,” said Dobler, who at one time assumed Mickelson’s job was merely to hit a little white ball into a hole with a stick, then jump onto his private jet and count his money. But that changed the day the phone rang at Dobler’s home in Leawood, Kan. It was Mickelson’s lawyer, Glenn Cohen. “He told me Phil had become aware of our situation,” Dobler said. “Phil wanted to pay for our daughter Holli’s college education. A random act of kindness is the only way to describe it. Holli’s a sophomore at Miami of Ohio, the school of her choice, because of one person: Phil Mickelson.”
The Doblers were enjoying a Fourth of July in 2001 when life changed for Conrad, wife Joy and their six children. Friends were coming over to the house, and he was cooking when Joy fell out of a hammock. “She said she couldn’t feel anything,” Conrad said. “We phoned 911. She’s been a quadriplegic ever since. We’ve had to downsize. The business we have, providing temporary medical help to hospitals, used to be a lot larger than it is now. I’ve had to sell a lot of assets, [it’s] everything I can possibly do to make it financially. Holli’s tuition would have been a big ticket.” Because the NFL treats former players like pieces of furniture, Dobler’s benefits from the country’s richest league are meager. “Judging by our disability payments, we’re America’s safest industry,” he said. “The greeters at Wal-Mart are taken better care of. Pretty ironic that a guy from another sport does more for us than the sport I played 10 years.”
Mickelson has gone public with his contributions of $100 per birdie and $500 per eagle to Birdies for the Brave, which funnels money to Homes for Our Troops and Special Operations Warrior Foundation — organizations that support wounded soldiers and families who lose a member in combat. The more he promotes those causes, the more corporate cash comes in. But the Dobler case is different, and when asked about it last week in Scottsdale, Ariz., where he was playing in the FBR Open, Mickelson politely declined comment. He does communicate with Holli, who waits tables at school when she isn’t cracking the books. She has a 3.8 GPA with a heavy course load. And she isn’t studying sportswriting.
“Our daughter is forever grateful to Phil,” Joy said. “I’ll tell you how involved he is. Since he made his first donation of $20,000, he’s made sure to include a cost-of-living increase each year. This year, his check was for $22,000. Next year, he’s promised $24,000. If there’s anything he’s missing in his life, it’s a set of wings. He’s an angel. And if I can when I see him for the first time, I’m going to go up and give him a big hug. I have therapy five hours a day, seven days a week. I’m getting there. Parts of me that didn’t move after the accident are moving again, sensations I didn’t feel, I feel. I don’t plan on being in this wheelchair forever.”
Quietly, Mickelson has invited the Doblers to the Memorial tournament in late May. At last, Conrad and Joy will be able to give thanks in person. “I’d do anything for Phil,” he said. “If I could get up and down a ladder, I’d paint his house.”
Bob Verdi is a senior writer for Golf World magazine.
Ike on April 20, 2010 at 2:05 pm