Tiger Woods cannot take a single step without a fan shouting something at him when he plays in a golf tournament. That even includes this tournament, the Masters, where fans—excuse me, patrons—are encouraged to NOT yell things out. You won’t hear much “MASHED POTATOES” or “GET IN THE HOLES” this week.
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Some brave souls will still test their luck on this front, though. One patron did off the ninth green on Tuesday, and somehow it led to a viral moment involving Woods himself.
As Woods was finishing off his morning nine-hole practice round, a patron off the left side of the green shouted out “Tiger, I’m open!” He held his hands up in the air to signal he was ready to catch one of Woods’ golf balls, knowing it likely would have no chance of working. Then, somehow, it did, the 15-time major winner promptly turning to his left and missile-ing his ball to the fan who declared he was open. After a bobble and a bump with another patron, the guy actually made the catch, too. Unbelievable scenes.Â
Alison Mastrangelo of WSB-TV in Atlanta was on hand to capture the entire thing, and she even caught up with the patron who made the snag of a lifetime:
At the end of Tiger Woods practice round at #themasters a quick thinking fan got a souvenir he will cherish forever. pic.twitter.com/y4n0fBpgEE
— Alison Mastrangelo (@AlisonWSB) April 9, 2024
That almost went so wrong, so quickly. Two different guys almost intercepted it, and had Matt dropped it, it would have been up for grabs like a foul ball in the stands at a MLB game. Great Madden Awareness to catch it off the deflection and secure an all-time souvenir. Matt’s grandkids won’t even believe him when he tells this story some day. “So, it was 2024, and I yelled ‘I’M OPEN’ at the greatest golfer of all time at the Masters….” You can’t make this stuff up.Â
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
