Emily Nash, a junior at Lunenburg High School in Massachusetts, had the winning score in a recent golf tournament by four strokes, but she wasn’t given the first-place trophy, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported.
Lunenburg doesn’t have a girls’ golf team, so she competes on the boys’ team and reportedly joined her male teammates for the Central Massachusetts Division 3 boys’ tournament.
Lunenburg golfer Emily Nash beat out boys by 4 shots – but rule keeps her from winning D3 title. Story on @boston25 pic.twitter.com/9UfkYrYatd
— Tyler Unwin (@TylerUnwin) October 25, 2017
The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA), which oversees high school sports in the state, allows girls to compete on boys’ golf teams, but they can’t compete as individuals.
In an interview with local television reporters, Nash said she was surprised not to get the winning trophy and called the situation “a bit unfair.”
T.J. Auclair, a writer for the PGA, was among many in the golfing world to denounce the MIAA rule after Nash’s winning score.
“For those wondering, yes, Nash did play from the same tees as the boys, which makes this situation all the more perplexing,” Auclair wrote, in part. “It’s 2017. This rule sounds like it was created in 1917.”
The pro shop manager where the tournament took place told Auclair denying Nash the trophy was “complete garbage,” and said even the boy she beat by four strokes tried to give her the trophy afterward because “he felt so bad.”
The MIAA released a lengthy statement apparently congratulating Nash on her success, but standing by its rules. The statement came under additional fire on social media as it never mentioned Nash by name, referring only to “the female golfer from Lunenburg.”
The MIAA is treating Emily Nash like Lord Voldemort.
“She-who-must-not-be-named” pic.twitter.com/PW12uX5MG9
— Carl Setterlund (@CarlSetterlund) October 26, 2017
