Brian Davis' decision to call a two-stroke penalty on himself in the greenside hazard on the 18th hole was a pivotal call--and not because it cost him the tournament.
Davis probably wasn't thinking this at the time, but from a marketing perspective, there couldn't have been a better way for him to lose.
When I opened up my gmail this morning, the headline that greeted me from Global Golf Post was: "Brian Davis Finishes Second With Honour."
Do you think the average golf fan three months from now would remember Davis losing in a playoff to Furyk if not for the penalty?
If I were a Srixon exec.--or any of Davis' other sponsors--I would be grateful. The longer it took for Davis and Slugger White to figure out the ruling, and the more the CBS announcers oooohd and aaahhhhd over the decision, the better it was for Davis' branding and image.
And then there's the moral aspect. Think about it: If you were in Davis' shoes, would you have called a penalty on yourself?
But that's what separates golf from so many other sports. We carry the USGA's Rules of Golf handbook--sometimes in our bags--as if it were a bible. It's how we are expected to conduct ourselves.
Davis will be remembered for doing the right thing.
