lucky S.O.B.
'The luckiest man in St Andrews': This golfer may be the only person who had as good a week as J.J. Spaun
Octavio Passos
Sometimes you just need a break. For example, J.J. Spaun got a perfectly timed weather delay to get his major chances back on track, and then he took advantage of the opportunity. Similarly, Redditor TeezyGolf got, well … another golfer’s broken wrist.
All love to the wounded “Brian,” but an inopportune injury was what allowed TeezyGolf to get a crack at the Old Course during a four-day St Andrew’s golf trip after a London work conference. Kingsbarns and Dumbarnie are far from middling courses, and yet, the trip wouldn’t have been complete without a tee time at the Grand Old Lady. It took until the last possible second to see the job through. Here's what happened:
“With my schedule, Monday the 9th was my only shot,” the r/golf user explained. “First, I entered the group Old Course ballot, which lets up to five players try for a tee time 48 hours ahead. I found a service called Ballot Buddy that connects solo golfers for group entries. My group was not chosen. Next up was the singles ballot, which opens 24 hours in advance. You go to the starter shack, fill out your info on an iPad, and then wait to see if you’re picked. I got the email just after 5pm… I was number 69 in line (go figure). Usually only the top 10 to 15 make it, so I figured it wasn’t happening.
“My backup plan was to walk onto the New or Jubilee as a single. But I decided to take one last shot and showed up at the starter’s hut at 6:20am. I told them it was my last day in town and asked if there was any chance I could get out. The starter looked at me and said, ‘You’re the luckiest man in St. Andrews today.’ One of the guys in the 6:50am group had broken his wrist and couldn’t play, so they gave me his spot.”
(Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
The fourth green at the Old Course.
Dom Furore
David Cannon
David Cannon
David Cannon
David Cannon
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Dom Furore
Tom Shaw/R&A
Dom Furore
David Cannon
David Cannon
David Cannon
The Old Course at St. Andrews is ground zero for all golf architecture. Every course designed since has either been in response to one or more of its features, or in reaction against it. Architects either favor the Old Course's blind shots or detest them, either embrace St. Andrews' enormous greens or consider them a waste of turf.
It was never going to be easy to get a last-second tee time at the Old Course, and it’s nice to see hard work pay off. We’re not recommending hordes of golfers show up at the iconic Scotland track every day begging for a shot, but it may not hurt to show up first thing in the morning and hope that someone has to nurse an injury, missed a flight or had a rough night at the pubs.
Like a few other suspicious commenters, we’re hoping that there wasn’t any foul play here by the original poster. There’s a non-zero chance we have a golf crime to get a last-second tee time on our hands.
Brian, if that is your real name, please reach out if there’s a darker story on our hands. Hopefully, everything’s on the up and up. But you never know what a golfer would do to get a last-minute round in at the Old Course.
