[GOREDDEVILS]

I don’t know Emma Talley and you’ve probably never heard of her either.

She’s a sophomore at Caldwell County who was competing in the Leachman/Kentucky High School Athletic Association Girls’ 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. Talley’s 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 she’d been DQ’d because of the scorecard error.

I’m sure Talley is heartbroken over the mistake but her sense of fair play is an example of the best kind of sportsmanship. I’m not sure of all the circumstances surrounding the incident because I wasn’t 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.

It’s obvious that the best golfer in the state resides in Caldwell County. She’s proven that two years in a row with some mind-blowing golf in the state tournament.

But beyond the outstanding golf, it’s nice to know there’s someone who appreciates the rules of the game, even at her own peril, and that a sense of sportsmanship still exists among today’s 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.