In 1994 golfer Davis Love III called a one-stroke penalty on himself during the second round of the Western Open. He moved his marker to get it out of another player’s putting line and later he couldn’t remember if he’d moved his ball back to its original spot. Since he wasn’t certain he gave himself an extra stroke, and that one stroke caused him to miss the cut. He was eliminated from the tournament, (ironically, if he’d made the cut, even if he finished last he’d have earned $2,000 that week). At year’s end Love was $590 short in winnings to automatically qualify for the Masters and needed to win a tournament in order to get into one of golf’s most coveted events. Fortunately, the story ends well. The week before the big event he qualified by winning a tournament in New Orleans, and went on to earn $237,600 by finishing second in the 1995 Masters. Later when Love was asked how he’d have felt if he’d missed the Masters because of calling a penalty on himself, he replied, ‘The real question is how I’d have felt if I’d won and spent the rest of my life wondering if I’d cheated.’ It’s easier to maintain your integrity than to try and recover it. Paul instructed Timothy: ‘In everything set…an example by doing what is good…show integrity…and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say’ (Titus 2:7-8 NIV). It may cost you to do the right thing, but it’ll cost you more when you abandon your principles and do the wrong thing.
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