Minnesota high school golfer disqualifies herself, ends state tournament bid
MARSHALL, Minn. (KMSP) - Kaylee Gossen, a junior golfer at Marshall High School in southwest Minnesota, appeared to be on her way to another state tournament appearance. Gossen shot a team-low 82 at the Section 3AA tournament at Oakdale Golf Course in Buffalo Lake, following up a first round 86 a week earlier.
But 20 minutes after finishing her round and turning in her scorecard, Gossen met up with her parents and realized she marked down a double-bogey 6 and not the triple-bogey 7 she actually scored.
Gossen told Marshall golf coach Gretchen Flynn of her scorecard error, and the two walked together to the tournament officials to report it. Officials called the Minnesota State High School League to verify their ruling and confirmed that Gossen was disqualified, meaning she won’t be golfing in the state tournament.
"Kaylee handled this with grace and maturity beyond her years and made the right call to do the right thing," Flynn wrote in a email to the MSHSL. "We, as coaches, are extremely proud of her and the other Section 3AA coaches were very supportive and proud of her as well.
Email sent to MSHSL by coach Gretchen Flynn
I just wanted to relay a story about true sportsmanship that happened yesterday at the Section 3AA golf tournament at Oakdale Golf Course in Buffalo Lake. My number 2 player, Kaylee Gossen (junior) turned in a team-low, state tournament-qualifying score of 86-82, or so she thought.
About 20 minutes after turning in her card, she was talking with her parents and realized she wrote down a 6 and not the 7 she scored on a hole. The girls in her group all thought she had a 6 on the hole. As soon as she discovered her mistake, she found me and told me what happened. We walked together to the tournament officials, Kaylee told them what happened.
Knowing what was coming, the tournament officials went out of their way to make sure her score was correct on that hole. They called into the MSHSL to verify their ruling and Kaylee ended up being disqualified for yesterday's round, costing her a repeat trip to the state tournament.
Kaylee handled this with grace and maturity beyond her years and made the right call to do the right thing. We, as coaches, are extremely proud of her and the other Section 3AA coaches were very supportive and proud of her as well.
Gretchen Flynn
Girls golf coach
Marshall High School