Is it better to be lucky or good?
During first-round action Thursday at The Masters, American golfer Xander Schauffele might have proven that the answer is, “Both.”
After a wayward tee shot landed in a patron’s merchandise bag, Schauffele somehow proceeded to salvage par on the hole.
“First bad driver swing of the day,” an announcer said following Schauffele’s errant tee shot in a clip posted to the social media platform X.
Then, the ball appeared to hit a large tree limb and fall straight to the ground.
Laughter erupted along the fairway when Augusta National officials spotted Schauffele’s ball at the bottom of a pink-and-white merchandise bag.
“I don’t think you could buy that in the merchandise shop,” the announcer quipped.
“That’s a first for me,” a second announcer said as officials located the ball at the bottom of the bag.
Xander Schauffele’s tee shot somehow ends up in a patron’s bag 😂 pic.twitter.com/fAiQK38oAr
— ESPN (@espn) April 9, 2026
The errant tee shot occurred on the par-5 eighth hole, per the Associated Press.
Remarkably, after using a tee to mark his spot, Schauffele went on to par the hole.
In fact, the golfer later described the improbable shot as a stroke of good luck.
“It just flew straight into the bag,” he said. “It was a great break. That bounce would’ve put me in the pine straw and who knows if I would’ve had a shot to hit up the hill.”
Indeed, the merchandise bag stopped the ball from bouncing further off the fairway.
Moreover, some credit belongs to the tree limb. After all, Schauffele’s “bad driver swing” should have landed his ball much deeper into the woods.
Schauffele, however, after finishing the day with a competitive 2-under-par 70, preferred to credit the patron.
“So thanks to the lady on 8,” he added.
As for his overall first-round performance, which included three birdies and two bogeys on the back nine, Schauffele — perhaps with a comedian’s wit — called it “a little bit of a mixed bag.”
Play has resumed at Augusta National with second-round action on Friday. Through four holes, Schauffele remained in contention at 2 under par.
Schauffele, of course, could play the rest of his life and never hit a shot like the one that helped him save par on the eighth hole Thursday.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
