Hideki Matsuyama was a foot or two away from a very unfortunate situation on Thursday.
On the ninth hole of the Sony Open in Hawaii, the former Masters champion hit a dubious tee shot, but it was his driver that ended up being the truly errant projectile. Matsuyama lost control of the club in his follow-through, sending him into the observers’ area.
Fortunately, the driver hit a rope before reaching two women at the front of the crowd.
It was a bad first shot by Matsuyama, but it ended up not mattering. The drive nearly hit the boundary fence to the left, but his second shot landed just short of the green on the 517-yard par-5. A chip and a putt later, Matsuyama made a birdie.
Professional golfers are not like us.