Phil Mickelson Hits Ball Straight Into Spectator’s Shorts [Video]
Phil Mickelson managed to fire a 260-yard tee shot straight up the leg of a spectator’s shorts at LA’s Northern Trust Open on Saturday.
The world number 9 hit a wayward tee shot on the Par-4 15th hole of the Riviera Country Club course. The ball flew into a group of spectators, presumably bounced around some, and then ended up lodged in the hem of a fan’s shorts.
By the time Mickelson had followed his sliced shot to the gallery, the fan was lying on the ground. Mickelson admitted, “I thought I had taken him out. It wouldn’t have been the first time.”
Yet this wasn’t murder by tee shot – the fan had simply laid down and stayed still because the ball was still up his shorts. The golfer, his caddy and the fan all cooperated to retrieve the errant ball.
From there, ‘Lefty’ dropped a shot but still managed to score par. He finished the third round of the tournament with a 1-under 70 and entered the final round tied for the lead with Keegan Bradley. Not bad!
In a thoroughly lovely gesture, Mickelson passed over a personalized autographed glove to the struck fan, as way of apology.
So that’s a valuable memento and a great anecdote! Here’s the footage of Mickelson’s pants shot:
