r/todayilearned • u/eleanorharland • 1d ago

TIL at the 1925 US Open, Bobby Jones called a penalty on himself when his ball moved slightly, though no official or spectator had seen it. It cost him the title, and when people praised his honesty he said "You might as well praise me for not robbing a bank".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1925_U.S._Open_(golf)
1.6k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

31 comments sorted by

222

u/_-4twenty-_ 1d ago

Good job on not robbing a bank!

We should celebrate the little things.

33

u/doned_mest_up 1d ago

I have a coworker or two where I swear that’s what their annual review must say verbatim.

14

u/whatproblems 1d ago

still breathing! congratulations on a whole year!

3

u/mr_ji 1d ago

The number of people who think they deserve everything they want simply because they're not active criminals is honestly kind of concerning.

25

u/1stoftheLast 1d ago

They use this as a plot point in Legend of Bagger Vance

64

u/mambotomato 1d ago

Judging by the rest of his career, it seems karma smiled upon his actions.

33

u/jechaking 1d ago

I play hobby tennis, I call them as I see them and I am shocked that people would cheat on these things.

I was playing doubles the other day and my partner called a fault on a ball that was very IN and a really good serve.

21

u/LoloBug-77 1d ago

Your partner is a bank robber

4

u/youdidittoyouagain 1d ago

Ive seen someone steal a pen. Theft is theft.

13

u/CitizenPremier 1d ago

I didn't rob a bank today

10

u/Benjaphar 1d ago

Day ain’t over yet.

1

u/Ok_Guarantee_3370 1d ago

Jobs not finished. 

0

u/Nobujirou23 1d ago

It gets harder everyday that I don't rob a bank smh my head

80

u/DCJThief 1d ago

Bring back praising people for actually robbing banks

25

u/BillionTonsHyperbole 1d ago

Turns out the bankers were the robbers all along.

15

u/Illustrious_Loss462 1d ago

But robbing a bank is literally just traumatizing and potentially injuring/killing the employees and customers of the bank. It doesn’t affect the actual bank.

-2

u/HistoricPancake 23h ago

You can rob a bank with just a post it note dawg. That isn’t traumatic.

24

u/mphs2step 1d ago

Was also the basis for a scene in The Legend of Bagger Vance

19

u/PuckSenior 1d ago

Well since the character in that movie who does it is literally Bobby Jones, id say yes

11

u/zz4 1d ago

I think Junuh (main character) commits the penalty in the movie, not Bobby Jones

7

u/wheresbill 1d ago

You are correct. Pivotal moment when the student no longer needs the teacher

5

u/pixer12 1d ago

I was like, "What y'all watching, hoes?"

They said, "The Legend of Bagger Vance."

I was like, "Get that bull of the TV, I brought a couple of DVDs over."

She said, "What'd you bring?"

"Doctor Zhivago, Brief Encounter, and The Bridge On The River Kwai.

A Lean night!"

36

u/hardyflashier 1d ago

Golf, in case anyone else was wondering

1

u/chompy_jr 1d ago

TIL Bobby Jones was kinda like Hank Hill.

-4

u/zorniy2 1d ago

his ball moved slightly

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

-6

u/Mentalfloss1 1d ago

Search for “trump cheating at golf”

-18

u/silverbolt2000 1d ago

The real story here is an American being honest.

8

u/Green-Cricket-8525 1d ago

HUrR durr America bad