Honest schoolboy returns his golf trophy after realising he’d made a mistake on his scorecard

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It seems barely a week goes by without sport being dragged into the mire of another cheating scandal. Thankfully, golf tends to be largely immune from the issues facing tennis, athletics, cycling and football at the moment, but it’s still nice to have moments that reassert golf’s position as arguably the most honest sport going.

The latest involves seven-year-old Yago Horno Mateo, from Andalusia, Spain. Mateo was crowned the winner of a competition on Saturday with a score of 50 strokes, but he later realised he had actually taken 51.

Shocked and upset by the error, Mateo wrote a letter to the Royal Andalusia Golf Federation explaining the situation so the trophy could “be given to the player who deserves it”.

Mateo’s letter also says he has “learned to be reviewing the results before signing the card”. 

The Royal Andalusia Golfing Federation praised Mateo for his honesty. “We want to recognise this wonderful gesture of a player who, at a mere seven years of age, has proven to be a true gentleman,” read a statement from the federation. “He has already learnt that the most important thing golf can teach us: honesty and a respect of the rules and of your peers.”

Nice work, Yago. We hope any less honourable sportsmen are paying close attention. 

NEXT: This 11-year-old bunked off school to play golf with Tiger Woods, beat him, and got a hole-in-one