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Professional golfer Rory McIlroy had a memorable run this week when he accidentally hit his dad with a stray ball.
Competitors at the 2021 Masters have seen a rough start at Augusta National, though for good reason.
The 2020 edition was played in November instead of April with a wide of safety precautions, which made for a new experience entirely.
Returning to their spring April dates for the 2021 run, many pro golfers found themselves on a more demanding course, and also with far fewer people watching in person.
Among the competitors was Rory McIlroy, who did not play his best game. Truth be told, his performance was fairly sloppy, with his golf ball landing all over the course, leaving him with as high of scores as 4-over throughout the day.
But a surprise came at the 7th hole, when he was trying to correct his run.
Previously, McIlroy struck his ball fair-left of the fairway, and while he was trying to correct his shot and bring his ball back to the green, he tried to do a straight shot from the strange vantage point.
But instead of correcting his shot, he struck a patron: specifically, his father.
You can watch the video here:
A moment Rory McIlroy will always remember: hitting his dad on the leg with a golf ball at the Masters. 😂 https://t.co/ttUxmMiVvy— CBS Sports (@CBS Sports)1617909035.0
Oops.
The video depicts McIlroy lining up his shot before taking a swing. The ball can then be seen flying through the air before it comes into a small crowd of people.
The ball struck the back of McIlroy's father's knee, while two men in the background hilariously put their hands to their heads in surprise and concern.
McIlroy was later to confirm later that his dad was fine.
"I think he was OK. He didn't limp away."
"He walked away pretty swiftly, so that was alright."
In response, Twitter had all kinds of fun with this error.
Some simply joked about it.
@CBSSports https://t.co/qzQOSZoITb— WILSON SZN (@WILSON SZN)1617915549.0
@CBSSports @CBS58 Not good but at least he kept it in the family.— phyllis farrelly (@phyllis farrelly)1617909976.0
@CBSSports A tradition unlike any other...— Rick Nyman (@Rick Nyman)1617909304.0
@CBSSports When you're hitting it bad enough even your dad ain't paying attention.— R.P. Engle (@R.P. Engle)1617922412.0
Others pointed out that the accident was actually an opportunity.
@CBSSports The best thing about this shot is that this Father probably saved him from a worse position. He should b… https://t.co/IjByuqjTaS— DennisB (@DennisB)1617932808.0
@CBSSports What are the chances of that happening? Did his dad ground him later? If this happened at US Open that'd be a Father's Day gift!— CC (@CC)1617937513.0
@CBSSports Maybe Dad should stand in the middle of the green!!!!!— Ed Kirwan (@Ed Kirwan)1617910202.0
Though hitting your dad on the course is not what you want while competing in a major competition, at least McIlroy can say that his father is fine, and it inevitably will be a running joke in his family, if not among the golf-loving masses.