Again, an acid test to Fil-Am Golf’s towering stature

By Al S. Mendoza

 

YOU may have already read/heard about it:  A player was disqualified for cheating in the just-ended 65th San Miguel Fil-Am Golf Invitational in nearby Baguio that was also backstopped by Toyota.

In previous columns, I did not mention his name and so, I am doing the same here.

His disqualification was enough punishment already, not to mention he was banned from further competition whose inception dates back to 1949.

As a consequence of his crime, the golfer’s team was also disqualified and, as a further punishment, the squad was also disallowed participation unless invited again by the Fil-Am Committee.

In the Fil-Am, which is a team tournament, it is often the case that the fault of one is the fault of all.

So hurt was the guy’s team (I also intentionally omitted the name of his team for image/reputation protection) that immediately upon arrival in Manila of the members of the team, they held a meeting.

The club president—again, I omit his name for the same obvious reason cited above—presided over the emergency meeting.

After hearing all sides of the matter, the president, with the concurrence of the Board, decided unanimously to impose the maximum penalty on the erring member: EXPULSION.

The president wrote me to break the sad news—indeed a cruel one for the offender as it might yet end the golfing days of the misbehaving fellow.

In golf, if you have been found to be a cheat, chances are you will be avoided like the Ebola plague.

In the same letter to me from the Club president, he appealed to me to request the Fil-Am Committee to reconsider its decision to also ban their Club from future Fil-Am competitions.

I did so with dispatch, believing still in the sacred tenet that in a democracy, appeals are necessary tools to gain justice.

He appealed that the fault of the guilty member was his own and his indiscretion did not “necessarily reflect” those of the other members’ actions.

The president said the aggrieved Club boasts of members from respected organizations, many of whom are retirees from high government/private agencies/corporations and even diplomatic posts overseas.

I have forwarded the letter/appeal to Anthony de Leon, the GM of Baguio Country Club, who, as the co-chair of the Tournament Committee, wields stupendous powers in the running of one of the country’s most prestigious golf events.

But strict as he may be, I am still almost absolutely sure that GM Anthony DL also owns a heart that transcends and sees through human frailties?

With his keen sense of fair play and justness, I believe Anthony will give due course to the appeal, even as the rigidness of Fil-Am rules have, in the past, struck and dug deep at the very core of wisdom’s wits?

In this world, indeed, hope springs eternal.

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