Legendary jockey Glen Boss was hit in the head by a golf ball, yet still won the inaugural Maserati Masters at Barnbougle.
Treble Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Glen Boss survived being struck in the head by a playing partner’s golf ball to team up with Melbourne Storm chief executive Justin Rodski and win the first staging of the Maserati Masters at Barnbougle.
The 55-year-old jockey copped the brunt of a freakish deflection off a golf buggy when another member of his group struck an errant shot on the 13th hole of the Lost Farm course that led to the ricochet. Boss’ face and mouth took the impact, and he spent several minutes spitting blood on the fairway. He would later require stitches. Typical of his resilient nature, Boss played on, carding a remarkable 39 Stableford points from his 19-handicap to bring his 36-hole tally to 69 points. He and Rodski combined best in the four-ball aggregate format to beat the 25 other pairs contesting the event, with Rodski returning scores of 27 and 34 points.
“I still don’t know how it happened,” Boss said of the incident that had everyone at the event talking. “This ball came from nowhere and just whacked me. I went down like a big heap of s–t; he thought he’d killed me, but I was blessed. I was actually all right.
“I was just spitting all my blood out, but I was going, ‘I’m not giving up. I’m not quitting.’ And we finished off the round.”
The field caught the two main Barnbougle courses in warm yet ideal mid-summer weather in early February. Participants were also treated to the sight of three different Maserati vehicles on show, however the chance to win one eluded each of the players. An ace on the par-3 15th hole at Lost Farm, which was playing 167 metres, would have given the lucky golfer a valuable memento from the famous Italian manufacturer. One golfer, Dean Milner, walked away with a handy consolation: use of a Maserati for a weekend courtesy of winning the nearest-the-pin prize on the hole.
“It’s been a great three days,” Boss said. “I’ve had an absolute ball and I can’t wait to come back next year.”
The Maserati Masters is an initiative between Australian Golf Digest and Air Adventure, with warm and welcome support from Maserati and Barnbougle. The Maserati Masters will return in 2026, from February 7-9. Keep reading Australian Golf Digest throughout this year for more details.
