Emilee Ritz – 1st Place Winner
12th Grade
Forest Hills Northern H.S.
“The Score”
My teammates and I stood in front of the scoreboard and calculated our total. Our numbers were good, but would they be good enough? This was the Conference championship—the big one. Our goal was to win, and I understood that my score would be vital for our success. The competition was fierce; the trophy would not be handed to us easily.
The dimpled, white ball rolled into the cup with a tink. As I walked across the green towards the hole to retrieve my ball, I smiled to myself, relieved that we were finally finished.
“Nice putt. Was that for a five?” my playing partner asked me while she replaced the flagstick.
I recounted my strokes in my mind. I knew that I had actually gotten a six, giving me a total score of fifty for this nine.I wanted to break fifty so badly, and the five my partner suggested would give me that dream. Before I answered her, I needed to consider what was more important to me—a low score or honesty? I thought back to the summer, remembering how much I accomplished from practicing daily. I thought back to last week’s practice, when I finally perfected my driver. I thought back to the speech given before this morning’s play, which emphasized how golf is a game of integrity: each player is given the role of scorekeeper and rules official in addition to playing the game. I thought back to the hole I had just finished and the seventeen others before it. Everything I had learned in my golf career had led me to this moment. The choice was mine.
The scores were in; the adding was done. My eyes rushed across the board, comparing our team score to the other schools. We beat one team, two teams, three teams, then four. I had to recheck our school’s total to confirm the unbelievable truth of what I was seeing. Our team had just won the Conference tournament by one stroke. My team had taken one less shot than the runner-up. That one stroke could have been from my score. That one stroke could have come from my last hole. That one stroke could have been the difference between a five and six.
The crowd clapped and cheered for my team as we walked up to receive our award. My smile filled the entirety of my face. I was ecstatic that we defeated all of our competition. We had accomplished our goal of winning conference, even though it was only by a slim margin, and I had been a part of it all. As my teammates and I huddled together for a group photo, I recalled the choice that I made earlier which had brought my team to this point.
“So, what did you get?” my partner asked again.
“I actually got a six,” I replied, knowing my choice was the right one. Whether or not my team would win that day, I would still finish as a winner.
