Golfer J.P. Hayes Pays Price For Honesty

Nov. 20, 2008— -- J.P. Hayes may be the most admired rule-breaker in America.

"This is a great story for sports and honesty in sports," said Mike Golic on ESPN Radio's show Mike and Mike in the Morning.

Hayes, 43, a middle-of-the-road pro-golfer, realized that he had mistakenly used a non-regulation ball for just two strokes in a PGA Tour qualifying tournament last week in Texas. Since the ball was unapproved for competition, Hayes admitted his mistake -- and was disqualified.

"I violated a rule and I had to take my medicine," Hayes said.

But Hayes didn't really have to turn himself in. No one filmed it. No one else saw it and no one would ever have known about the two shots with a prototype golf ball.

"No one would have known, but I knew," he said. "And I have some people looking down on me that would have known, so that was the decision I had to make."

Character, they say, is what you do when no one is watching. While that's a powerful mantra, it's easier to say than to live by. And for a player who was working hard to earn a PGA Tour card, admitting his mistake put a full-time spot on the line.

Hayes's decision to turn himself in is a discussion dominating the world of sports. In a world where NASCAR drivers say, "If you ain't cheating, you ain't trying," baseball players take illegal steroids to enhance their performance and coaches make illegal films of their opponents, Hayes could have kept quiet.

"The lessons kids are being taught today, when you talk about sports, is how to get away with things in general," said Damon Hack, a senior writer for Sports Illustrated. "Often young players are taught it's not cheating if you don't get caught."