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Spirit of Sportsmanship Award: Stevenson golf coach makes right call

Incorrect score. Correct decision.

To John Rueth, a middle school teacher and high school coach, it was as simple as simple gets. He made the only choice he could make. As a result, the season of his Stevenson boys golf team was over, its state-title hopes dashed faster than a lipped putt.

"Unfortunately, I'm good with numbers," joked Rueth, the winner of the Daily Herald's Prep Sports Excellence award for Spirit of Sportsmanship.

The number Rueth couldn't get out of his head during the Class 3A sectional at Kishwaukee Country Club in DeKalb last fall?

Nine.

Rueth had heard one of his golfers was struggling, so he went out on the course and caught up with him on what might go down as the most infamous hole in Stevenson golf history. When the player putted out, he penciled down an 8, raising Rueth's eyebrow. The official observer in the foursome and the three other players agreed on the 8. When the round was done, the scorecards were signed, making them official.

A couple of hours later, as the final scores were being tallied, Stevenson was all but officially state-bound. The math added up to everyone, except Rueth.

He reviewed the one hole again with his particular player, and the two came to the conclusion that the player actually had a 9. Because the error was brought to attention only after the player had signed his card, he was disqualified. Stevenson had to count the score of another player, whose 81 was two strokes more.

Stevenson was out, missing the cut by 1 shot. Lake Forest, as a result, was in.

Lake Forest went on to win the state championship that weekend. The Scouts could thank the coach of their North Suburban Conference rival.

"I can't say enough about the person he is," Lake Forest coach Jim Matheson said of Rueth. "People asked me after that happened, 'Can you believe he did that?' And my response was always, 'Yes, I could believe it because if there is anyone that ever puts his sport before himself it's John Rueth.

"When we left DeKalb that day I talked with my guys for 30 minutes before we pulled out. I made sure they understood what happened that day was because a man did the right thing, despite how much it hurt to do. I told them they would never forget today and that they shouldn't remember it because a kid put down a wrong score and we made it to state, but they should rather remember it because a great guy made a decision that I hoped every one of them would make."

Rueth insisted his golfer was not trying to cheat and that his program's integrity has never been questioned.

"When you start chili-dipping and shanking, you lose track of your score," Rueth said. "We all do."

Rueth says Lake Forest golfers approached him in the parking lot and said they couldn't believe what he did. Stevenson's golfers understood their coach made the right decision. On the bus ride home, Rueth says they teased the player, noting the A student takes AP calculus but can't add up his score on a hole.

"I feel like it's not really a matter of being honest," Rueth said of his actions. "It's just what you're supposed to do. I didn't think of it as it being anything unusual. I just thought we broke the rules and this is the way it goes."

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