The 7 Most Gentlemanly Acts In Golf History

In the first round of the 1925 US Open, Bobby Jones was preparing to hit a ball from the rough when he felt his club had moved the ball slightly.

Although nobody had seen anything untoward, he called a penalty on himself.

Praised for his sportsmanship after the round, he replied, “You might as well praise me for not robbing a bank.”

It’s a story that encapsulates the absolute importance of integrity in the sport of golf.

We expect golfers to be honest, decent and gracious and there are many examples of displays of those behaviours through the history of the game. Here we take a look at a selection, starting with a recent incident.

Scottie Gives A Long One

On the 14^th hole of the singles at the 2026 Presidents Cup, Scottie Scheffler was three-up on Nico Echavarria of Colombia.

The American played a good tee shot and then Echavarria stood up. Right in the middle of his swing, a fan yelled “Let’s go Scottie!”

The International team player miscued badly and dropped his driver in frustration.

Scottie shouted in the direction of the unruly fan, “There’s no place for that!”

Then, in a further display of sportsmanship, Scottie conceded a 30-foot putt to Echavarria, not wanting to win a hole in unfair fashion. As the commentator said, it was an, “absolute touch of class from Scottie Scheffler."

The Concession

Playing Jack Nicklaus in the afternoon singles at Royal Birkdale in the 1969 Ryder Cup, Tony Jacklin holed a lengthy putt for eagle on the 17^th to draw level and, with the overall score at 15.5 each, the whole Cup rested on the last hole.

Both men found the green in two and Jacklin putted first, ending two feet short. The American raced his birdie effort past before calmly holing for par.

Then, Nicklaus reached down and picked up Jacklin’s marker. Nicklaus said to the Englishman something along the lines of, “I knew you wouldn’t miss, but I didn’t want to give you the opportunity to.”

The conceded putt meant a halved game and a tied Ryder Cup. It’s gone down as one of the most memorable Ryder Cup moments and it’s regarded as an act of supreme sportsmanship.

Brian Davis Costs Himself victory

During a sudden-death playoff at the 2010 RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links, Englishman Brian Davis called a two-stroke penalty on himself, handing the title to Jim Furyk.

In a reed bed on the first extra hole, Davis felt he brushed a reed, moving it with his backswing.

Nobody else saw it but a slow-motion replay showed he was right to call it and Davis accepted the two-shot penalty.

Payne Stewart in 1991 and 1999

At two raucous Ryder Cups, the late Payne Stewart intervened to try and calm down the partisan home fans.

Playing against David Feherty in the singles at Kiawah Island in the “War on the Shore,” in 1991, the crowds became so unruly at the 17^th hole that Feherty couldn’t get to the tee and was actually held back by a marshal.

Stewart stood in and put his arm around Feherty and shepherded him onto the tee.

In 1999, Stewart once again did his level best to prevent fans heckling Colin Montgomerie. The Scot has often talked about what a gentleman Payne Stewart was on that day.

Roberto De Vicenzo Takes It On The Chin

In the last round of the 1968 Masters, DeVicenzo made a birdie three on the 17^th hole, but his playing partner Tommy Aaron accidentally marked down a four on his card.

Despite a bogey on the final hole, the 45-year-old had blistered round Augusta in 65 shots. It should have been good enough to tie Bob Goalby at the top of the leaderboard and force an 18-hole playoff.

Unfortunately, the Argentine failed to check his card properly and signed it with a four rather than a three at the 17^th.

The higher score had to stand so DeVicenzo finished one shot shy of the American. His response to the mistake was powerful and heart-rending in its simplicity: “What a stupid I am.” He said.

The grace with which DeVicenzo accepted this crushing blow was testament to his professionalism as a golfer and honour as a man, his conduct was rightly recognised by the USGA in 1970 as they awarded him the Bob Jones award for distinguished sportsmanship in golf.

Monty And Langer Share The Spoils

After tying on three-under-par through 72 holes of the 2002 Volvo Masters at Valderrama, Colin Montgomerie and Bernhard Langer went into a sudden-death playoff.

After two holes, the light was fading badly. Monty and Langer decided with the tournament officials that they could share the trophy. It was a nice act of sportsmanship by two European greats.