We’ve heard of people going to great length – and obviously, great expense – for Masters tickets, but turning to a bit of light extortion might be the most extreme. Especially when the mark is a Masters champion.
Such is the case (kind of), according to Jordan Spieth, whose first of three Major victories came at Augusta National in 2015. Apparently later that year, he moved houses and was hit with a particularly nervy ask/demand from the person who bought his house.
This is an absolutely bonkers tale, and it comes courtesy of Golfweek‘s Adam Schupak, who compiled a round-up of strange requests pertaining to the Masters on the eve of the 2023 tournament. Here’s how Spieth tells it:
When I moved houses in 2015, I left a few things in a safe like my high school ring. He said he’ll return them if and only if I’d go over to their house for dinner and he could have Masters badges for the week. I was like, no, think you should just return it because it was the right thing to do. I think what ended up happening is I said, yeah, we’ll figure out a time to get together, could my mum just pick it up because I was out of town. She did and I just haven’t done anything. The guy is pretty upset. He’s left a note at our gate.
Wow. OK, to review, Spieth left some valuables – if you count a high school ring – in a safe when he sold his house in 2015. We’re assuming it was a big safe or he would have moved it with him to his new house. Anyway, that’s a sloppy job by Jordan, but whatever. The guy who came into possession of said safe, though, tried to use that as leverage for dinner with Jordan? And weekly Masters badges? And was basically going to keep the safe until he was paid a ransom? What a sick thing to do!
Also, those weekly badges don’t just grow on trees. That would be an awkward/tough get even for someone who has won a green jacket.
At least it sounds like Spieth has found a way around the situation without giving up anything. Although, it also sounds like this greedy guy knows where Spieth currently lives… Good thing he has a gate.
FULL MASTERS COVERAGE:
https://www.australiangolfdigest.com.au/tournaments/themasters/
