A teenage golfer from Massachusetts who came first in a regional tournament this week was denied a trophy and a chance to compete at state level because she's a girl, according to local media reports.
Emily Nash, 16, shot a three-over-par 75 at the Central Massachusetts division three boys’ golf tournament on Tuesday, writes the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, putting her in first place, four strokes ahead of second place.
However, while girls are allowed to compete in the tournament as part of a larger team, they are not eligible to win as individual players.
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“I was definitely disappointed, but I understand that there are rules in place,” Nash told the Gazette. “I don’t think people expected for this to happen, so they didn’t really know how to react to it.”
T.J. Auclair, a writer for the Professional Golfers' Association, called her three-over-par score “impressive” and criticised the decision not to award her the trophy.
“So, let's get this straight” she wrote on the PGA website. “Nash's score, which was the best in the field by four strokes, was OK to count toward the team effort, but not OK to count individually? And for those wondering, yes, Nash did play from the same tees as the boys, which makes this situation all the more perplexing. It's 2017. This rule sounds like it was created in 1917.”
