Teen Golfer Shows True Sportsmanship By Giving Up Trophy

Fourteen year-old Zach Nash had an amazing summer. On August 11th, the talented golfer went home with the championship trophy after shooting a 77 at the Milwaukee County Parks Tour Golf tournament, an invite only event for accomplished junior golfers, organized by Wisconsin's PGA division.

Eager to share his news with his mentor, professional golfer Chris Wood, he rushed to the Rivermoor golf club. The two were celebrating the win over a soda, when Chris suddenly noticed that Zach had an extra club in his golf bag.

When he pointed it out, Zach realized that he had inadvertently placed an extra club that a friend had left behind into his bag and, played his big tournament with 15 instead of the stipulated 14 clubs.

While it may not seem like a big deal, in golf it is - and the penalty for the breach of this rule is two strokes for each hole played with an extra club, with a maximum of four penalty strokes - So while Zach had recorded a 77, if he had been penalized he would have been at 81 and hence, in second place.

Even though it was an honest mistake and Zach had not even used the extra club, he and Chris both immediately knew what he had to do - Return the trophy. After consulting with his parents and getting their consent, Zach mailed the trophy back to the organizers so that it could be handed to the rightful winner. While heartbreaking, the teen knows that to be a good sportsman, one has to show the true spirit of the game in every possible way, which in our eyes, makes him, an even bigger champion!

sources: jsonline.com,nbcsports.msnbc.com