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10-13-2009, 03:45 PM
I donât know Emma Talley and youâve probably never heard of her either.
Sheâs a sophomore at Caldwell County who was competing in the Leachman/Kentucky High School Athletic Association Girlsâ State Golf Tournament at Bowling Green Country Club over the weekend.
Talley is apparently one fine golfer. Last year, as a freshman, she captured the state championship. She appeared to have state title No. 2 in her clutches on Sunday after shooting a 72, to go along with her first-round 71, for a two-day total of 143. That was six shots better than the runner-up score.
But Talley realized she made a mistake on the scorecard. Talley bogeyed the 18th hole but signed for a par on her scorecard.
Instead of shrugging her shoulders, dismissing the error and putting that state championship trophy in her bag, she reported the error to tournament officials. After a 30-minute meeting, those same officials came back with the devastating news: Talley would be disqualified.
The rules of golf are unforgiving when it comes to scorecard errors. The sophomore was disqualified and the title went instead to Sacred Heart senior Lindsay Gahm, who had shot a two-day total of 149. And that was that. Talleyâs 144 was erased from the books, like it never happened.
Talley, an outstanding golfer by all accounts, probably knew the consequences of reporting the scorecard error. If she had corrected her scorecard before signing it, she still would have won the tournament by five shots. It was a dominant weekend performance that turned out to be a nightmare for her.
The disqualification denied Talley her second consecutive state individual title. She won last year by shooting a state tournament record 10-under 132, including a 7-under 65 in the first round. This year, Talley finished as the only player under par before getting the news that sheâd been DQâd because of the scorecard error.
Iâm sure Talley is heartbroken over the mistake but her sense of fair play is an example of the best kind of sportsmanship. Iâm not sure of all the circumstances surrounding the incident because I wasnât there.
Maybe someone else noticed the scorecard error and pointed it out to her. Nonetheless, it takes a big person to admit they had made a mistake, especially one that is so costly.
Itâs obvious that the best golfer in the state resides in Caldwell County. Sheâs proven that two years in a row with some mind-blowing golf in the state tournament.
But beyond the outstanding golf, itâs nice to know thereâs someone who appreciates the rules of the game, even at her own peril, and that a sense of sportsmanship still exists among todayâs high school athletes.
Talley should be held up as an example of what to do both on and off the field. Her honesty and integrity make her a champion in every sense of the word.
Sheâs a sophomore at Caldwell County who was competing in the Leachman/Kentucky High School Athletic Association Girlsâ State Golf Tournament at Bowling Green Country Club over the weekend.
Talley is apparently one fine golfer. Last year, as a freshman, she captured the state championship. She appeared to have state title No. 2 in her clutches on Sunday after shooting a 72, to go along with her first-round 71, for a two-day total of 143. That was six shots better than the runner-up score.
But Talley realized she made a mistake on the scorecard. Talley bogeyed the 18th hole but signed for a par on her scorecard.
Instead of shrugging her shoulders, dismissing the error and putting that state championship trophy in her bag, she reported the error to tournament officials. After a 30-minute meeting, those same officials came back with the devastating news: Talley would be disqualified.
The rules of golf are unforgiving when it comes to scorecard errors. The sophomore was disqualified and the title went instead to Sacred Heart senior Lindsay Gahm, who had shot a two-day total of 149. And that was that. Talleyâs 144 was erased from the books, like it never happened.
Talley, an outstanding golfer by all accounts, probably knew the consequences of reporting the scorecard error. If she had corrected her scorecard before signing it, she still would have won the tournament by five shots. It was a dominant weekend performance that turned out to be a nightmare for her.
The disqualification denied Talley her second consecutive state individual title. She won last year by shooting a state tournament record 10-under 132, including a 7-under 65 in the first round. This year, Talley finished as the only player under par before getting the news that sheâd been DQâd because of the scorecard error.
Iâm sure Talley is heartbroken over the mistake but her sense of fair play is an example of the best kind of sportsmanship. Iâm not sure of all the circumstances surrounding the incident because I wasnât there.
Maybe someone else noticed the scorecard error and pointed it out to her. Nonetheless, it takes a big person to admit they had made a mistake, especially one that is so costly.
Itâs obvious that the best golfer in the state resides in Caldwell County. Sheâs proven that two years in a row with some mind-blowing golf in the state tournament.
But beyond the outstanding golf, itâs nice to know thereâs someone who appreciates the rules of the game, even at her own peril, and that a sense of sportsmanship still exists among todayâs high school athletes.
Talley should be held up as an example of what to do both on and off the field. Her honesty and integrity make her a champion in every sense of the word.
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10-13-2009, 05:01 PM
If I was second and that far behind it would be hard to accept the trophy even with with the one stroke mistake made by Talley.
10-13-2009, 07:20 PM
Wow, pretty neat story.
10-18-2009, 12:40 PM
more on emma from todays sunday daily independent
More on Emma
Emma Talley, the Caldwell County High School sophomore who lost the state golf championship because of a scorecard error last week, actually does have some ties to Ashland.
Emma played in the past two NRP Bluegrass Junior Invitationals at Bellefonte Country Club, finishing second this summer and fourth in 2008, according to Tom Cooksey.
In 2008, she was given the Cameron Weis Memorial Sportsmanship Award.
Talley, who won the state golf title as a freshman, was on the way to championship No. 2 on Sunday. She was six strokes ahead of the competition when she finished.
However, when the scores were posted, she noticed something wasnât quite right. She had a bogey on the 18th hole and had marked down a par score.
Emma and her father went to tournament officials and after a brief meeting they came back with the devastating news that she had to be disqualified.
Not only did Talley lose the state tournament, she also lost the Miss Golf title that is based on points system. She needed to finish no higher than 10th at the state tournament to win that award.
But because of the DQ, her points werenât enough to claim Miss Golf.
Sacred Heart golfer Lindsay Gahm, who won the title because of Talleyâs DQ, tried to give the trophy back to her at the ceremony.
Talley stayed at the tournament and actually re-interviewed with a western Kentucky television station after learning about the scorecard error.
Cooksey, one of the stateâs premier rules experts, said the correct decision was made in regards to the USGA Rules of Golf.
This isnât the first time that Talley has brought a penalty to the attention of a tournament official.
In last yearâs regional tournament, she called a penalty stroke on herself when she went to putt a ball and it moved, according to an e-mail from Kim Farmer, an assistant AD at Caldwell County. Talley had not âofficiallyâ addressed the ball, but had addressed it for the way she was going to putt it. She called the rule official herself and took the penalty.
Talley also faced the music at school the following day even though she knew there would be a lot of questions from friends.
âEmmaâs integrity, morals and values are unspeakable,â Farmer wrote in the e-mail.
I couldnât agree more.
More on Emma
Emma Talley, the Caldwell County High School sophomore who lost the state golf championship because of a scorecard error last week, actually does have some ties to Ashland.
Emma played in the past two NRP Bluegrass Junior Invitationals at Bellefonte Country Club, finishing second this summer and fourth in 2008, according to Tom Cooksey.
In 2008, she was given the Cameron Weis Memorial Sportsmanship Award.
Talley, who won the state golf title as a freshman, was on the way to championship No. 2 on Sunday. She was six strokes ahead of the competition when she finished.
However, when the scores were posted, she noticed something wasnât quite right. She had a bogey on the 18th hole and had marked down a par score.
Emma and her father went to tournament officials and after a brief meeting they came back with the devastating news that she had to be disqualified.
Not only did Talley lose the state tournament, she also lost the Miss Golf title that is based on points system. She needed to finish no higher than 10th at the state tournament to win that award.
But because of the DQ, her points werenât enough to claim Miss Golf.
Sacred Heart golfer Lindsay Gahm, who won the title because of Talleyâs DQ, tried to give the trophy back to her at the ceremony.
Talley stayed at the tournament and actually re-interviewed with a western Kentucky television station after learning about the scorecard error.
Cooksey, one of the stateâs premier rules experts, said the correct decision was made in regards to the USGA Rules of Golf.
This isnât the first time that Talley has brought a penalty to the attention of a tournament official.
In last yearâs regional tournament, she called a penalty stroke on herself when she went to putt a ball and it moved, according to an e-mail from Kim Farmer, an assistant AD at Caldwell County. Talley had not âofficiallyâ addressed the ball, but had addressed it for the way she was going to putt it. She called the rule official herself and took the penalty.
Talley also faced the music at school the following day even though she knew there would be a lot of questions from friends.
âEmmaâs integrity, morals and values are unspeakable,â Farmer wrote in the e-mail.
I couldnât agree more.
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