At first, spectators around the 13th hole didn’t know where Tiger Woods’ tee shot went. The 47-year-old golfer had already pointed to his right, signaling that his first shot Saturday would veer sideways. Fans and officials stationed by the ball’s landing spot didn’t know where it fell, either.
Then, one spectator felt a bump in their jacket.
An eventful weekend for Woods at the Genesis Invitational — his return to the PGA Tour, a prank involving a tampon that backfired and led to backlash from a women’s empowerment group — featured another unusual occurrence at the Riviera Country Club. The fan had a jacket wrapped around his waist, and when he untied it for tournament officials, “a ball dropped off and it was his,” he told the PGA Tour.
“I’ve gotten gloves and golf balls by him before,” the fan said in the interview, “but this is just something … getting hit by Tiger Woods was just incredible.”
Woods apparently recognized the spectator, too. The fan, who lives in San Diego, told the PGA Tour that he has been a regular at golf tournaments, and he even followed Woods during his opening two rounds. So he stationed himself on the right side of the hole — knowing Woods’ tendency to hit right — and started informing the other spectators around him that “Tiger’s going to hit over here.”
When Woods realized where his ball ended up, he turned toward the fan, shook his head and said, “It had to be you.” The CBS broadcast also showed the fan joking with Woods and saying that “if I could, I would have pushed it out.”
“I didn’t even know,” the fan told the PGA Tour. “I mean, all of a sudden, boom. There it is. What are the odds? I am stoked, and I’m going to follow Tiger all day, of course.”
Woods finished with a par on the 13th hole en route to a 4-under round, and he was in a tie for 28th during the final round early Sunday afternoon In his first PGA Tour event since last year’s British Open, he capitalized on just narrowly making the cut by sinking an eagle and three other birdies Saturday.
