It seems on April 27 of this year, they both tied for medalist honors at their conference’s final tournament. The medalist, the one with the lowest score, went on to the NAIA national tournament.
When they arrived at the tee to begin the playoff, they discovered they both could not go even though they had posted identical scores. No co-medalists were allowed. There would be a winner and a loser. The tie meant they went to a head to head sudden death playoff with the winner earning the right to play in the nationals.
Grant had already won the right to be there since his team finished first. Seth had to beat Grant to get there. Grant thought that did not make sense since they both had identical scores. He especially thought it was not right since he had already won a spot and if he won the playoff, one person from his conference would be left out since he would take two spots.
After checking with his teammates, he decided to do something rare in the world of sports— well in the world of anything. He decided to lose on purpose so Seth, a senior, could go to the NAIA tournament in his last year of eligibility.
He purposefully hit his tee shot out of bounds, assuring Seth a victory.
A firestorm of opinion has ensued on both sides of the opinion line. Some called his intentional act of giving the victory to another person somehow contrary to the spirit of competition. Others have praised him as a man whose sense of good sportsmanship and character transcends the more base and banal aspects so often seen in sports where the motto is often, “If you ain’t cheatin,’ you ain’t tryin’.”
What do you think?
Golf has a tradition of sportsmanship that other sports do not have. By rule, a player must call a penalty on himself/herself. Contrast that to the arguments in baseball or basketball; where if the whistle does not blow then play on regardless of the infraction. That’s what the refs are for.
Maybe it was that sense of honor taught by the game of golf that caused Grant to decide to give away medalist honors to Seth. I think it goes beyond that.
Let’s go back to the universities they represent. They are St. Francis University and Olivet Nazarene University. Hmm… maybe they represent not only a standard in the game of golf and also in the game of life.
After all it was St. Francis who prayed, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace… for it is in giving we receive.”
In a world of win at all costs, this story has brought the name of Grant Whybark to the national news. ESPN, sports writers and others have commented about his actions in these past weeks. Most find it a refreshing story about how a young man found a win-win with a competitor. I number myself among them.
While it may go against the way the world works, it stands as a reminder that there are more important things than winning. It is something we might try to embrace in our homes, in our families, our communities… well, everywhere.
Actually, I think Grant did win twice on April 27, 2010; once with his golf clubs and once with his character. It was in giving that he got the second victory.
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