Matt Jones crashed a suite and took the coolest shot at the PGA Championship
SHEBOYGAN, Wis. — There was one hole left of partying at the Michelob Ultra hospitality chalet on Saturday when a crasher from Australia named Matt Jones showed up.
Or, to be more specific, a golf ball from Matt Jones crashed its way in.
“It was like a foul ball at a baseball game,” a golf fan named Tyson Gutschow said after the commotion had died down. “You heard ‘Get out of the way! Get out of the way!’ And then boom!”
The ball hit the blue carpet, caromed off a few objects or people and then came to rest near a round table and behind a collection of flower planters. The fans in both the Michelob chalet and the others located high above the left side of the ninth fairway rushed over and whipped out their smartphones. They started taking pictures as if a shower of Lake Michigan perch had just dropped from the sky.
Jones, a 35-year-old journeyman who happened to be leading the PGA Championship at the time with a score of -13, thought he had hit the ball well but obviously picked the wrong line. He arrived a few minutes later to attempt a shot that lit up the Internet and woke fans up from some mid-third round doldrums.
If you’re a casual fan reading this wondering why landing your ball in a suite doesn’t count as a stroke penalty, it’s because suites are considered part of the grounds. If you want an explanation for that, well the only thing you’re going to get is this: “Because they just are.”
Plus, why would anyone want to see anyone take a drop instead of hitting a shot like this?
Jones turned out to be a good guest. He didn’t ask for anything to drink, nor did he overstay his welcome. He didn’t say much either, only conversing with the people he’d brought with him.
“The rules committee was up there and they were trying to determine whether he was going to drop it or play it,” Gutschow said. “And he said, ‘I’m playing it.’ ”
Jones did rearrange the furniture, though. The golfer requested that the flower planters in front of him be moved. The planters disappeared. So did a hanging basket of flowers from a post on a rail.
Security arranged fans like props on a stage and the wire photographers took their positions. Jones himself peered over the side of the fence and down toward the hole, 166 yards away.
“There were a lot of cameras clicking,” Jones said. “And I just had to deal with it, because no one is going to be able to control a crowd like that.”
Meanwhile, Gutschow pondered the randomness of it all. He’s a local from Sheybogan and happens to be the president of Larry’s Distributing, the fine company responsible for making sure there’s enough beer on hand at Whistling Straits. He and his 12-year-old son Spencer were watching from the same vantage point on Friday when a drive from Brooks Koepka also reached the chalet. Spencer was hit in the shoulder by the ball and Koepka hit out for an eventual bogey.
“What are the odds?” Gutschow asked. “It’s like getting struck by lightning.”
Now the man leading the tournament was standing just a few feet away and CBS cameras were there. Gutschow didn’t want to let the opportunity for exposure pass so he and other partiers made sure they were holding their Michelob cans in such a way they could be seen on TV.
“That’s the best advertising in the world we can get,” Gutschow said. “We were all turning our cans. The camera guys were like ‘You can’t do that.’ I said ‘It’s our chalet!’ ”
In the end, Gutschow didn’t get that much free advertising. The cameraman set himself up in the doorway behind Jones and his wedge. The blimp then picked up the trajectory of the ball’s flight, following it until it landed iin the second cut off the green, about 35 feet from the hole.
People who had gathered above the ninth green had been trying to pick up Jones’ location with binoculars and were unaware he had made a temporary stop in the suites. Only when they heard all the cheers and saw the high fives people were trying to give Jones did they realize what had happened.
“Did that just come out of the suite?” they asked in disbelief.
Unfortunately for Jones, the shot was arguably the high point of his round. Once he climbed down toward the green, the 36-hole leader couldn’t save par and took bogey to move to -12. Though he fought back with birdies on 11 and 14, he fell apart on the final three holes going bogey-bogey-double bogey and will start Sunday’s final round at -10, five shots behind fellow Aussie Jason Day (-15). The two countrymen played together on Saturday, with Day shooting 66 to Jones’ 73.
“I’m still in it. I’m definitely not out of it,” Jones said. “I have to shoot a very good round tomorrow.”
Making a few shots that are memorable for different reasons than the one on Saturday might help
– – – – – – –
Kevin Kaduk is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!Follow @KevinKaduk
