• Out of Bounds

Golf's the winner thanks to Brian Davis

Jim Furyk was the winner of the tournament, but Brian Davis was also a winner © Getty Images

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Win at all costs is a mentality adopted by too many sporting figures so Out of Bounds feels it is only right that Brian Davis is championed for his superb act of sportsmanship at the Verizon Heritage on Sunday.

Davis is a journeyman professional, admittedly one who has made a fine living out of the game of golf, who is still seeking his first win on the PGA Tour. He had that chance at Hilton Head. Davis held his nerve to sink a fine 18-foot putt on the 72nd hole to force a play-off with Jim Furyk.

On the first play-off hole, Davis tugged his approach shot to the left of the green and it ended up nestled in the shrubbery on the beach. He had the choice of taking a penalty drop or attempting to get up and down to keep the match alive. There was never much likelihood of Davis taking a drop; he played out to 30 feet which would have left him a putt for par.

But instead of hopping up onto the green and marking his ball, Davis summoned the referee to inform him that he had had touched a piece of shrubbery with his club. Such an offence carries a two-stroke penalty, an automatic loss in the circumstances, but it was not clear to the naked eye and even under a super slow-motion camera it was not obvious either. But Davis knew and he made the call rather than opt to turn a blind eye and hope that it was not picked up by TV. Davis did not take that chance. It's like cricketers taking a low catch: the majority know whether it has carried or not but opt to claim the catch hoping it might go their way. Thankfully Davis did the decent thing, the right thing, and called himself for a penalty.

He is desperate to secure a win on the PGA Tour, but not to the extent that he would bring himself and the game into disrepute. "You're not playing for second, but playing to win," Davis said. "But I can hold my head up high." That he can.

Recalling the incident at Harbour Town, Davis said: "I thought I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I didn't feel anything, but I thought I might have seen something. It was just one of those things. I had to call it and I did."

Golf has had to contend with some negative headlines in recent weeks and months, as the off-field travails of Tiger Woods were front as well as back-page news, so it is good to see that golf can be a talking point for the right reasons.

And it would appear that the incident has caught the eye of the wider world, as Davis was the recipient of phone calls, texts and emails congratulating him for his act of honesty. "It was mostly `I just wanted to send you a note to say we need more people like you in sports,'" Davis said. "People saw it as an example to the younger generation to make the right choices."

The victory was Furyk's second of the season, his previous one at the Transitions Championship was overshadowed by an interview at the same time on a rival channel by a certain Tiger Woods. On this occasion Furyk was happy to share the spotlight. "I wanted to wave to the crowd and tell them I was excited but I did not want to take anything away from Brian."

If there is any justice in the world, a win for Davis is looming large on the horizon. But even if it doesn't he is already a winner, as is the game of golf.

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