Character matters.
We’ve seen that phrase in every walk of life. Coaches preach it to their players. Teachers stress it to students. Employers emphasize it to their employees. Parents should underscore this when raising their kids.
We see character in high school sports even when it’s not in an ‘in your face’ fashion.
Travis Perry, Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball, picks up trash around the bench area after his team’s games.
Trigg County recently played an undermanned Todd County Central girls’ soccer team. The Lady Rebels were forced to play a player down due to injuries so Trigg coach Jason Hite opted to also play a player down to level the playing field.
But what about when making the right decision means taking the loss?
Conlee Lindsey made that choice recently, costing her a top-five finish, a career-best score, and points that would have gone to her All-State profile.
The University Heights Academy senior was completing play in the Christian County Invitational on Aug. 24 at Western Hills Golf Course. The all-afternoon affair had stretched into the twilight hours as golfers were trying to get their round finished before total darkness.
Conlee was playing well and knew a birdie on her last hole would give her a career-best round of 69.
She missed the putt but tapped in for a par.
However, the birdie putt remained in her head. Birdie. 69. Darkness. Top-5 finish. All things swirling in her head as she walked off her final hole.
Conlee watched as her score of 69 was posted on the scoreboard. But she knew that didn’t seem right. She had to make the putt to get the birdie and the birdie meant a 69.
But she had made par, which meant a round of 70.
In the confusion of getting off the course in the darkness, Conlee wrote ‘4’ as her score on the 18th hole. So did her playing partner on her card.
“That obviously wasn’t correct but we both wrote down four for me. I usually like to add up my score but I had already knew what I got,” she said. “When they wrote 69 on the board, I knew that wasn’t right so I went up there and I was like, “Can I see my scorecard?”
Conlee began adding up her score and realized she had signed for a score of 69 instead of the 70 she shot.
In golf, once you sign for your score, it’s final. No mulligans. No do-overs. It means a disqualification if it improves your score, which it did in this case.
Golf is full of rules that vary from course to course. But this was a situation Conlee had never been in before. So she went to her coach, more for confirmation of her decision than to seek advice.
“The way I teach my kids – this game is based solely on honesty and integrity and when she came to me and said ‘what should I do?’, I said I’m not going to answer that for you. Only you can answer that,” UHA golf coach Brandon Grace said. “I’ve been with her as a coach for six years. I know her and I told her I know how your heart is and I know how your conscience is so you have to make that decision on what you’re gonna do in this situation.”
That’s when Conlee decided to alert tournament officials of her incorrect score.
“I knew I couldn’t walk away and know that I got a trophy for something I didn’t deserve so I decided to tell (Christian County coach Stacy Crick) because I couldn’t leave with that on my mind,” Conlee recounted.
Conlee’s choice meant returning a fourth-place trophy. It also meant not claiming a new personal best score.
“I told her I was proud of her for what she did. If people found out about it and you didn’t do the right thing, you’re not going to have a good reputation on the golf course,” Grace said. “I told her just be thankful it was the Christian County Invitational and it wasn’t the region tournament or the state first round because then your season is over.”
However, her decision will have some implications that have yet to be played out.
Conlee’s disqualification meant she wasn’t able to claim the 70 points that would have gone toward her All-State total. Players accumulate points for their finish which not only determines All-State status at the end of the season but also gives them a spot in the coveted All-State Tournament later this month.
Had Conlee gone home with the 69, she would have been 20th in All-State points and safely in the All-State Tournament.
Her DQ meant a spot at 30th in the standings. While she can still qualify for the tournament in two weeks, it will be tougher and will necessitate a strong finish at this weekend’s All A Classic State Golf Tournament in Richmond.
“I knew I was doing the right thing in the end. It sucked but at least it wasn’t the state tournament or the semi-state round,” Conlee said. “I hate not getting points for it but I’d rather not get points and do the right thing and not feel guilty about it because I knew I’d think about it forever.”
Fifteen years ago, it did happen to a golfer at the state golf tournament. And a similar decision was made.
Emma Talley won the KHSAA girls’ state championship as a freshman. In 2009, the Caldwell County sophomore set out to repeat as champion at the Bowling Green Country Club. She finished her round with an apparent five-shot win over the second place golfer.
“I got behind a tree on No. 18 and punched out. I forgot to add that to my score on the hole,” Emma remembered. “My dad realized that my scorecard was signed incorrectly. He came up and told me, I said, now you’re wrong. And then we counted the strokes and he was correct.”
Like Conlee, Emma self-reported the mistake to tournament officials. It meant a disqualification at the state’s top event.
“The thing about golf that’s so important to remember is, it’s the only sport that you’re your own ref. There is a lot of etiquette to the game. I just think golf is unique in that. And so there was no doubt what to do. I mean, my dad told me I was wrong. And the rules of golf say you have to disqualify,” Emma said. “You either can abide by the rules or you can lie about it or not tell anyone. But I took the other way and I disqualified myself. Was I bummed at the time? Absolutely. But I got through it.”
Emma returned to Bowling Green and won back-to-back state titles although the DQ kept her from becoming the only four-time Kentucky state champion.
She went on to play at the University of Alabama where she won an NCAA national title and later a U.S. Amateur title. She’s now on the LPGA tour although she admits there is a tinge of anxiousness in the scoring tent when submitting her score.
“You live and you learn and you move on,” Emma said, noting that the story about disqualifying herself at the state tournament eventually made it to the New York Times.
“I don’t the story on me winning the state title would have made it.”
She also had advice for Conlee moving forward as the Northern Kentucky University commit winds down her high school career.
“Be proud of yourself. At the end of the day, your character is way more important than your golf score and your golf scores are not your identity. The fact that she was able to do that and call it on herself, shows her character,” Emma said, adding “use it as motivation. If she’s near a 69, she’s doing good things.”
Conlee plans to do just that with the region golf tournament coming up later this month with a chance to qualify for the state first round.
“I feel good about my decision. I wouldn’t change it if it happened again. I’d still turn myself in because again I know that that’s the right thing to do and my coach preaches about cheating and your reputation on the course,” Conlee said.
