The shot of one golfer’s life turned into the highlight-reel of his life thanks to some fortunate timing. Look, you need a little luck to make an albatross, but to make one while cameras happen to be rolling? Well, that’s a belated St Patrick’s Day miracle.
Such was the case for one participant in the LPGA Drive On Championship Pro-Am on Wednesday. A man playing in a group with LPGA pro Hye-Jin Choi at Superstition Mountain (great name) Golf and Country Club knocked one in from way downtown with a fairway wood. Heckuva golf shot.
So why do we know about it? And, even weirder, why did we get to see it? Because Golf Channel happened to be testing out cameras on that hole for the tournament, which started the following day. Have a look as the dude’s golf ball lands on the front of the green and tracks into the cup for the rarest of golf birds:
Amateur Albatross ?
What are the chances?!
While testing cameras during the LPGA Drive On Championship pro-am, @GolfChannel captured this shot of a lifetime ? pic.twitter.com/aZZpZQgqZa
— LPGA (@LPGA) March 22, 2023
That’s an A+ shot with an A+ reaction (the music is a nice touch as well). Somehow the guy knew it went in because he gave the big hat toss and then attempted a flying chest bump with one of his playing partners. Good thing they didn’t connect or someone probably would have gotten hurt.
Choi smiled and clapped, but stayed pretty calm considering the situation. Guess she’s locked in for the actual tournament. Maybe not as locked in as Max Homa this week, but very locked in.
In any event, congrats to this lucky guy. And condolences to all his acquaintances, because you’re going to be hearing about—and seeing—this shot over and over for years to come.
UPDATE: OK, so this wasn’t just some regular weekend hacker off the street. Turns out, the albatross was made by Roy Smith, a PGA of America pro and the current General Manager at Mesa Country Club. Anyway, heckuva shot, Roy. And we hope the bar tab wasn’t too high.