For those of you who are not avid ESPN watchers or rabid golf fans, you probably missed the excitement of The Irish Open, this past weekend's European PGA Tour event.

    The event was won by Thomas Bjorn with a birdie on the final hole of the tournament.  The last few holes of the event had to be played on Monday due to bad weather over the weekend.   While the conclusion of the tournament was exciting and competitive, it was not highly unsual.  What happened earlier in the day was extraordinary.

    Darren Clarke, an Irish golfer carrying the title hopes for the home fans, came out to return to his ball to the spot on the ninth hole where he had marked it at the conclusion of play the previous day.  The mark was in the rough, in a spot where he had no chance to reach the green.  

     When he reached the spot, he found that the rough had been trampled and patted down around where his ball was.  As the rules require, he alerted the tournament officials that his lie had been improved.  Their ruling was that he should play the ball "as it lies".  At this point in the tournament, Clarke was leading by two with several players within a few shots. 

    Clarke could have easily reached the green with his shot, but instead chipped out to the fairway as had been his intention when play was halted the previous day.  Clarke ended up with a bogey on the hole and finsihed third, two shots behind Bjorn.

     When asked after the tournament about the 9th hole, Clarke stated that he could not have played the final holes with his head high if he had taken advantage of the improved lie in the rough.   Even though it was legal for him to do so, Clarke did not think it was fair to take advantage.  In doing so, he gave all of us a golf lesson not just for sports but for all of life.