Louis Oosthuizen made Masters history when he sank the Par-5 second hole’s first-ever double eagle during Sunday’s final round. When the South African went to collect his Titleist ball from the cup, he surprisingly lobbed it into the gallery of fans around the green. Wayne Mitchell, a 59-year-old from Pennsylvania who was sitting in the front row, ended up with it.
After the final grouping played through the hole, Augusta National members approached Mitchell, exchanging a few pleasantries before escorting Mitchell to the clubhouse, where negotiations for the ball took place.
“I came here anonymous today and I don’t feel as though I’m anonymous anymore,” he said, per ESPN’s Gene Wojciechowski.
In the end, Mitchell decided to donate the ball to the club, where it will remain in its archives. Naturally, Augusta is remaining mum on the arrangements. Would a membership be too much to ask for?
The ball would have been even more valuable had Ooshuizen won the tournament, with Devil Ball Golf citing one estimate at $20,000. The albatross was the tournament’s fourth ever and helped catapult Ooshuizen to the top of the leaderboard, where he remained for most of the round. But Bubba Watson ended up claiming this year’s green jacket after forcing a sudden-death playoff with Oosthuizen that lasted two holes.
Here’s the video of Ooshuizen’s historic shot:
Photo credit: Allan Henry-US PRESSWIRE
