A caddie, not the Coronavirus may have been the biggest threat to fans at TPC Sawgrass on Wednesday. As part of the Players Caddie Challenge in honour of Bruce Edwards, loopers lined up for a chance to tame the famed par-3 17th hole. And one wound up hitting one of the most wayward shots ever struck on Pete Dye’s signature hole.
Introducing Jeff Johnson, who caddies for Retief Goosen and can now claim to be one of the few people to miss the island green, but not lose his golf ball. That’s because Johnson yanked his attempt so far left that it wound up on dry land, hitting a cartpath and bouncing up into a grandstand.
Fortunately, an alert fan caught the ball and Johnson wound up signing it for him. All good fun! You know, now that no one got hurt. Anyway, check out the video:
Retief Goosen's caddie did NOT win the caddie competition on 17 at @THEPLAYERSChamp. 😂 pic.twitter.com/dbsLCJUXzc
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) March 11, 2020
Goosen, by the way, is in the field as the defending Senior Players Championship winner. The 51-year-old South African who was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame last year, has seen some things in his long career, but we’re guessing that’s a first. Although, incredibly, it wasn’t a first for Johnson.
If you watch the video closely, you’ll see the caddie claims to have also once found the hole’s “other island” with a different, terrible shot. Amazing. Again, this is why Jeff will be carrying a golf bag once the tournament starts tonight, Australian time.
