Posted on 04/08/2012 7:52:43 PM PDT by T-Bird45
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The golf ball sat at the bottom of the left pocket of Wayne Mitchell's green cargo shorts.
"I've got a zip on it," Mitchell said of the zipper pulled tight across the pants leg.
He might have considered a safety deposit box.
Mitchell owned -- for a few hours, at least -- one of the most famous golf balls in Masters history. He got it Sunday afternoon after Louis Oosthuizen double-eagled the par-5 2nd hole, pulled the Titleist from the cup and, incredibly, underhand-tossed it toward the patrons seated behind the green.
It landed in the hands of Mitchell, a 59-year old from New Tripoli, Pa., who was making his fifth trip to the tournament.
"Actually, the biggest fear I had was that I was going to drop it," Mitchell said before eventually returning the ball to Augusta National officials later in the afternoon.
(Excerpt) Read more at espn.go.com ...
Wow! It is apparent that most folks here have no idea about the history of this event!
Do you really have any idea how hard it is to make a double eagle? Apparently not!
Most really good golfers try for a double eagle their whole life with the chance of success at much less than 1%. This shot would be the culmination of a lifetime of golf for most folks. Heck, even in the professional circuit, it is so rare that it is considered a miracle.
To non golfers, get a life - this was such an unusual event that event the Masters folks wanted the ball back!
Okay, a bit of confession - I have been trying all of my golfing life to get a double eagle (the only thing that I do not have - 2 hole in ones). I finally had to give it up with age.
This is a momentous thing and should go down in history for the Masters! Thank goodness he gave them back that ball!
Being a woman, I would have asked to be made a member of the club :-) I would have asked just to watch Hootie pass out.
I fully agree with you..the ball was voluntarily given to the fan without expectation for return. Giving it back was a gracious act by a true golf lover.
Any good golfer will agree that golf is one of the last honest games out there. Golfers will tell on themselves when they have violated the rules, all the while when no one else saw them do it.
Consider other professional sports, like football, when a player, such as a receiver, blows a route and looks towards the ref for an interference or holding call that never happened...
The guy had no legal obligation to return the ball...he had a moral and ethical obligation...I don't know the details but I imagine the reward was offered, yet not demanded - at least that's what I am going to believe.
You am good folks, AM...
Whoops...too fast...AO, not AM (The letters ain’t even close on the keyboard, so I have no excuse other than a low slung forehead).
Return that WHITE ball??? I just wanted some Skittles, damn you!!!
All are talking about how hard it is to make that double eagle, it is nearly impossible, but we see it can happen.
I believe the odds of that are greater than getting a hole in one. My husband has 5 hole in ones, got 2 of them last year, a day after the tournament that gave away a car. hahaha. Oh, well we would have to pay taxes on that anyway.
He is of course an amateur and 75 yrs old. He wants one more to tie another man in the club.
A double-eagle is a rare bird on the golf course - much rarer than a hole-in-one.
To make a double-eagle requires acing a par-4 hole or scoring 2 on a par-5 hole.
The unscientific odds of scoring a double-eagle are about a million-to-one. The unscientific odds of scoring a hole-in-one are about 13,000-to-one.
(Discrepancies in odds will occur due to the disparate skills of professionals in match play....and everyday duffers on their local links.....plus lack of verifiable records....in other words the odds stated are merely educated guesses.).
lol
I picture God with a 1000 inch flat screen, Dolby Surround Sound set to theater mode, kicking back in his "Media" room (cloud), saying, "Dang it, biy...stop with the three putts already."
Whoops...should be: Dang it, boy
No excuse for typos...
BUT, as I told my pastor who loves to play golf, there can't be Golf in heaven. How would we play when everyone is a winner, hole in one every hole, what's the point? No losers, as there are no tears in heaven, no anger!
My pastor didn't like that very much, I managed to ruin his day. Oh well. lol
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.