No matter what happens Sunday, Davis is a winner

text size

Stan Badz/PGA TOUR

Kids from Sam Houston High School got to meet Brian Davis before the third round on Saturday.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- It's probably a safe bet that Brian Davis had never met anyone who had his name painted on their fingernails before.

Until Saturday, when he was introduced to Kathy Dang, that is.

The 14-year-old, who had a different letter inked on the white polish at the tip of each finger, was among 17 high school students who came to meet Davis prior to his third round of the Crown Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

And regardless of whether Davis goes on to win his first PGA TOUR event on Sunday, the Englishman is a champion in the eyes of those teenagers.

Their English teacher, Elizabeth Hodges, had happened to notice an article about the penalty Davis called on himself during his playoff loss to Jim Furyk at the Verizon Heritage in April. She was intrigued by the tease to the story that essentially posed the question: Would you have done the same thing?

So she printed out the article and asked her students to write about it for their journals. Hodges said about 90 percent of the students were impressed by his decision; the rest couldn't believe he called a penalty on himself when no one would have known otherwise.

"It was one of those opportunities to plant a seed in their minds,'" Hodges said. "Maybe they'll think about it later when they're confronted with a difficult challenge or a decision they have to make, and maybe they'll reflect back and remember that story about him.

"We're always looking for opportunities to plant positive seeds in their minds and show positive role models, especially in professional sports. So many of the athletes don't care that high school students are emulating them on everything they do. We were just thrilled to have someone positive to focus on."

In the meantime, Hodges sent an e-mail to PGATOUR.COM about the class exercise and later called the TOUR office in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., to make sure Davis knew how he had touched her class. Kids like Kathy Dang, who said she was "inspired" by Davis' decision.

"I thought it was really cool how he was so honest," said Kathy, who is a freshman at Sam Houston High School in Arlington, Texas.

It's been more than a month since Davis' fateful decision at Hilton Head. So Hodges was surprised on Friday to receive a phone call inviting her to bring the class to Colonial. It's the middle of final exams, but everyone scurried to get the appropriate forms notarized so the students could go on the Saturday field trip.

"We scrambled like crazy to get as many kids here as we could," Hodges said.

Kathy Dang had a lot of homework to do, but she found a way to come. "We had to call the mobile notary," she said. " We had to do everything to come here. But I knew it was a big opportunity."

Davis started Saturday's third round in the penultimate group, two strokes off the lead held by Bryce Molder. Before the Brit hit the practice range, though, he took time to meet with the students beside the putting green.

Their first question for Davis? That was a no-brainer. Why did he want to meet them?

"The lovely e-mail I got," he said. "That was the one that stood out from all of them."

The students came bearing gifts. Joshua Florence presented Davis with a stack of the journal entries. They were the originals, written by hand on lined paper and tied up with a white ribbon.

"It looks like I won't be going out tonight," Davis said, grinning. "I'll be reading all night. Thanks for taking the time to do this and coming out today."

Hodges had brought a copy of the original article and asked Davis to sign it. She plans to frame the feature and keep it in the classroom. And when he finished his post-round interview, Davis sat down at a desk and autographed all 17 hats the tournament had given the students.

In a nice bit of symmetry, Davis has a chance to win the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial on Sunday -- just as he did at Hilton Head. He is tied with Molder for the lead and he says he's more at peace with himself this time around.

"I just feel happy," Davis said. "It's one of them things where you go through things in life, and some things affect you. Some things don't affect you. ... All of the positives that came out of Hilton Head, maybe changed my outlook slightly."

Just as the actions of the father of three may have changed the lives of those students from Sam Houston High.

"When we received the email from the teacher, that was the one I commented on to a few reporters about," Davis said. "What impact that's had on not necessarily the golf community. She didn't watch golf, just heard the story and used it for the pupils as a class thing. That sort of hit home. ...

"Anything that you can have a positive thing come out to children is a good thing. So, you know, I was very happy the kids were here today and hopefully had a good time."