AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Patton Kizzire provided the first viral moment of the 2025 Masters when his errant tee shot on the fifth hole sailed right of the fairway on the fifth hole, prompting the American to crawl through the shrubbery on his hands and knees in an effort to find his ball and attempt to save par.
It’s not a sight patrons at the Masters see very often. But Kizzire was photographed on all fours in the bushes while assessing his second shot after finding the ball.
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He found enough space to maintain a solid stance and slapped the ball out into the fairway without any further damage, but wound up missing a par putt and made a bogey-5.
Kizzire’s misery didn’t end there as the 39-year-old followed that with another bogey on No. 8 and a double bogey on No. 9 to shoot 3-over 39 on the front. Kizzire’s scored later ballooned to 7 over through 16 holes, leaving the Alabama native and three-time PGA Tour winner in last place after finishing his opening round.
One golf fan wrote on X: “The Masters aren’t truly underway until Patton Kizzire is crawling around in the pine straw off to the right of the fifth fairway.”
Aaron Rai and Stephan Jaeger were the early leaders at 4-under, while defending champion Scottie Scheffler was two shots back after six holes. Rory McIlroy, in search of his first Masters win and completing the career grand slam, tees off later in the afternoon. ___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
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