Once home, Lotey became one of the most sought-after tour guides in Bhutan. He specialized in hard-core trekking, specifically the Snowman trek, a grueling month-long odyssey that skirts the Bhutan-Tibet border while crossing several high passes, including three above 16,000 feet.
After seven years of guiding, Lotey became a flight attendant with Druk Air, a job he held from 1987 to 2002. "I got scared after September eleventh and didn't want to fly anymore," said Lotey, who then became the general manager of a construction materials company. Lotey's face is taut and smooth, like a marathon runner's, but he's a different man below the neck, with a modest potbelly. "I used to be so physically fit," he said.
"What happened?" I asked.
"The easy life is the lazy life," Lotey replied. Over the past decade, Lotey supplemented his income through golf to help support his wife and three children (two boys and one girl). The prize for winning the Bhutan Open was a 21-inch Sony flat-screen TV worth about $600. "My wife doesn't like it when I play so much golf, but she likes what I bring home," Lotey said.
After speaking for twenty-five minutes, I was very confused. Lotey had been speaking calmly and without reservation, but it was as if nothing had happened. I wasn't sure whether I should keep talking and wait for him to raise the cheating incident, but finally I took the plunge. "What happened out at seventeen when you stepped behind your ball?" I said.
Lotey didn't blink or blush or have any reaction. He simply leaned forward and folded his arms on the table. "They call it a local rule, pushing down the grass. Now, since everybody is doing it in all the tournaments, our committee has not stood up on this," Lotey said. "We know it's not allowed (in the rules), but it's been how we do it."
"What do you do when you play outside Bhutan?" I asked.
"We can't do that," Lotey replied. "Outside, I never take a chance, because it's your name."
Lotey's reply didn't settle my mind. He admitted that he had cheated, but he didn't express an ounce of regret or admit to feeling an iota unsettled about having cheated. I wanted to press him further, but I didn't. I felt like a single question could cause Lotey to erupt, and I didn't want to cause another, and perhaps more serious, scene. I was a visitor, and there was nothing to be gained by pressing the case.
"It's kind of late, and I'm sure you want to get home," I said.
"Yes, that is good," Lotey said.
He rose from the table, slung his golf bag over his left shoulder, and began walking to the parking lot. "What does being the Bhutan Open champion feel like?" I asked.
Lotey smiled. "This is an absolutely happy moment."
