In the Spirit of the Game:
McGowan Disqualifies Himself
in Final Event of Year
By Dominic Dastoli

Rockport, ME-Brian McGowan, in position for his best finish of the year following consecutive rounds of even par 70, disqualified himself for playing an incorrect ball in the final round of the Cleveland Golf Tour's season ending Samoset Open. On the par 4, 1st hole, McGowan played an incorrect ball from a hazard, which isn't a penalty if corrected before the next shot. Unknowingly, however, he played that same ball until reaching the fairway on the 3rd hole. Preparing to play his approach shot, McGowan glanced down at his ball and realized that what he had done. Stunned, he broke down into tears, knowing his season had just ended prematurely.

"I was in shock," said the 25-year-old McGowan, a Seton Hall University graduate who had made only $962 in the first nine events of the season. "It hit me like a ton of bricks. I really needed to play well and that hurt."

Gary Carpenter, Jr., a good friend of McGowan's, immediately rushed from an adjacent hole to console McGowan, a former Florida Public Links champion.

"It was heart wrenching, a kid that works as hard as he does" said Carpenter, a veteran of professional golf. “It just shows the kind of integrity he has.” Once play resumed, Carpenter admitted that his next shot “was one of the toughest shots I’ve ever hit in my life.”

Tournament Director Andrew Dearborn felt the tour come to a standstill as everyone came to the aid of McGowan.

"It really touched everybody," said Dearborn. "To end his year like that, with tears in the fairway, it was almost like the tour stopped right there. It wasn't a typical DQ. It shows the kind of guy that Brian is." 

McGowan's selfless display of integrity conjures up images of the great Bobby Jones, who once disqualified himself in a national tournament and downplayed the significance of his decision, saying, "You might as well praise a man for not robbing a bank."