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American golfer Cameron Tringale tied for 33rd place at the recent USA PGA Championship at the Valhalla Golf Course in Louisville, Kentucky and took home $53,000 in winnings as well as 37 FedEx Cup points. However, a week after the tournament had ended he handed the money back as he felt he should have had another stroke added to his final score. The 26-year-old Tringale said he actually missed a putt on the par-three 11th hole in the final round at Valhalla.

Tringale added that he whiffed the tap-in putt and instead of being credited with a bogey four, he should actually have been charged five shots. Tringale contacted the America PGA and told them what happened on the hole. He claimed that his putter swung over top of the ball while approaching the hole before he tapped it in from three inches away. He said he swung over the ball it should have been recorded as an additional stroke.

According to Rule 34.1b (III), if a stroke isn’t recorded then the player is subject to disqualification. Therefore, the honest Tringale basically owned up to what happened and lost his earnings and points since he disqualified himself even though nobody else knew about the situation. Nobody would have been the wiser if Tringale kept quiet, but he felt it was the right thing to do. The incident wasn’t filmed by television cameras and just a couple of dozen fans were on hand at the hole.

Apparently none of Tringale’s playing partners, the rules official or caddies noticed what happened either, but Tringale obviously feels honestly is the best policy and must have been feeling a little guilty about it. Kerry Haigh, a PGA official, said, “We are very appreciative of Cameron Tringale coming forward to inform us of this situation. It yet again shows the great values and traditions of the game and the honesty and integrity of its competitors.”

Tringale is in his fifth season on the PGA tour and after the 37 points he was awarded at the USA PGA Championship were deducted he dropped to 61st place in the FedEx Cup standings. The top 125 golfers earn a spot in the first playoff tournament and from there the field is narrowed down to 100, 70 and then 30 players in three more playoff events. Tringale should make the first playoff, but he’s now just 64 points above the 71st-ranked golfer. But even though Tringale also had to give up the $53,000 in winnings, he’s still in pretty god shape since he’s won more than $1.3 million so far in 2014.