Fansided

Boston College golfer surrenders $10,000 prize because of NCAA

By Connor Muldowney

Mar 21, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; A general view of an official logo on the court prior to the game between the North Carolina State Wolfpack and the Villanova Wildcats in the third round of the 2015 NCAA Tournamentat Consol Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 21, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; A general view of an official logo on the court prior to the game between the North Carolina State Wolfpack and the Villanova Wildcats in the third round of the 2015 NCAA Tournamentat Consol Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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A Boston College golfer was participating in a one-day professional golf tournament when he made a hole-in-one, but was forced to surrender his money prize because of NCAA rules.

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Nowadays, the NCAA is getting a bad reputation for handcuffing the student-athletes. Sure, the rules are written and therefore should be followed, but sometimes the regulations can be a bit harsh for these amateur athletes.

Boston College junior golfer Brian Butler participated in a one-day professional golf tournament this week and won an enormous prize for sinking a very rare hole-in-one.

For the impressive feat, Butler picked up a $10,000 prize and had to be pretty excited about the thought of taking home a massive check and using it as spending money for his senior year in college.

However, not too long after he nailed the shot, he realized that he wouldn’t be allowed to keep the money, per NCAA rules, if he wanted to retain amateur status. With one year left at Boston College, it seemed far too valuable for him to waste on going pro and surrendering his final year of the ‘best four years’ of his life.

According to GolfWeek:

"“I’m not going to give up my last year of college golf for $10,000,” Brian Butler said.But next time — on the wild and crazy chance that there is a next time, that is — Butler can’t promise that he’d make the same decision. Not with $1 million on the table. “That,” he said, laughing, “would probably be a different story.”"

At the qualifier, the prize for a hole-in-one was $10,000 and that’s something Butler had no idea about while at the main tournament on June 18, if an amateur golfer makes an ace, a $1 million prize is offered.

That’s why Butler doesn’t know if he’d be able to pass up the million dollar prize for another year playing college golf.

This is another instance of NCAA rules taking away something that an amateur athlete earned rightfully. While not many people believe that college players should get paid, including myself, prizes that are won by these athletes should be allowed to be kept.

NCAA rules prohibit this if these student-athletes want to retain amateur status, but this is something that happens very rarely and the kid had to say no to a once-in-a-lifetime prize after hitting probably the most exciting shot of his life.

Maybe he will win the million-dollar prize in June and change his mind.

H/T: FTW

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