E-mail from Bob Thompson
St Andrews
 
Reference the Scottishgolfview.com obituary on US  golf writer Ron Balicki.
I was enticed to check up on him and found that he won first place in the GWAA writing contest in 1998 for a column he wrote in Golf Week 1997, about the late Barclay Howard, pictured, one of Scotland’s best ever amateur golfers. 
The article related to the unfortunate situation when Barclay, after playing in the Walker Cup, was trying to qualify for the US Amateur at Cog Hill and inadvertently played a different ball from what he had been using earlier in the round.   
The ball had been in his bag from the Walker Cup and was handed to him in error by his caddie.   At the time there was a one type ball in use in the USA but not in the UK.   
Barclay was aware of this but did not notice at the time. After his round, just before lunch, Barclay noticed the error, told officials and was DQd.  He would have qualified.   
The reason I mention this is because Balicki gave great credit to a golfer, outwith his homeland, who showed great honesty and integrity.
 
Bob Thomson
St Andrews