Derek Tolan is known to many Colorado golf fans as “The kid who qualified for the 2002 U.S. Open as a 15-year old.” Derek is now old enough to order a beer after a round, but he still can’t shake that stigma””there are worse things to be known for. After this year’s Pacific Coast Amateur held on August 5-8 at Royal Colwood Golf Club in Victoria, British Columbia, Derek may now be known as “The kid who qualified for the 2002 U.S. Open as a 15-year old and who called a penalty on a guy that cost him the 2008 Pacific Coast Amateur.” Derek should be equally proud of that label””here’s how it happened.
During the final round of the 72-hole Pacific Coast Amateur Derek was in the final group of the day. Derek was leading the tournament with nine holes to play, trying to become just the second Colorado player to win this prestigious championship in the 42-year history of the event.
During the final nine holes one of Derek’s fellow competitors was preparing to play a recovery shot from out of the trees. As the player was taking practice swings, several small branches fell out of the tree in the area of his intended swing. Derek knew that this was a violation of the Rules and he immediately asked the player if he noticed the branches fall as a result of his practice swings. When the player did not acknowledge his mistake, Derek suggested that they get a Ruling from an official as soon as possible. When the players reached the green they conferred with an official and they returned to the spot to recreate what happened. After the discussion the player acknowledged that he had knocked down some branches and a two-stroke penalty was assessed. This two-stroke penalty ultimately cost the player the tournament and Derek a Christmas card.
I asked Derek if he had any second thoughts either during or after the incident and whether he considered how this confrontation may impact his ability to focus on his own game down the stretch. “Absolutely not,” was Derek’s reply. “I said to myself, what if this happened in the group in front of us or another group and no one said anything. I was protecting the field.”
Derek handled the situation extremely well in a number of ways: 1) He didn’t take the path of least resistance by backing down or overlooking the infraction; 2) He brought it up immediately with the player and didn’t wait until the hole was over, or worse until after the round; 3) He didn’t personalize the situation and suggested that they confer with an official to get a Ruling; 4) He didn’t second guess himself or carry any doubt with him””he knew he did the right thing.
Derek Tolan has accomplished a lot of great things in the game of golf and has an extremely bright future. But this instance shows that there is more to him than just a good golf swing. It is times like this that those of us involved with the CGA and CJGA are proud to call him one of our own. While he didn’t win the tournament, he showed what the game is all about.
