Rory McIlroy made one of the most incredible shots of the 2022 Masters last weekend, and in a way viewers knew it was coming. Nick Faldo was responsible for that.
McIlroy holed an extremely difficult bunker shot on the 18th to cap off an outstanding round and put himself in the mix for the green jacket. The shot was not shown live on CBS, and Faldo made the mistake of teasing what happened. Just before CBS showed the shot, Faldo said he did not want to spoil anything but that “something incredible has just happened.” It then became quite obvious.
Many golf fans were upset, and Faldo took a lot of heat on social media. He was asked about that during an appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show” this week. Faldo called the moment a “rookie mistake.”
Spoiler Gate 🙈
I got caught up in the moment and for a split second I saw Rory in a green jacket…
🎬 @dpshow pic.twitter.com/2Ep88JF6US
— Sir Nick Faldo (@Sir_NickFaldo) April 12, 2022
“That was a rookie mistake, but I’m sitting right in there and it just happened and it was just off the charts,” Faldo said. “When you hear the patrons roar, the crowd go nuts, you can’t come back and go, ‘Let’s look at Rory live out of the bunker on 18,’ because you know it’s now on tape. I got caught up for that split second and I reacted. You’re right, I got it all wrong for a split second.”
Faldo is right that he could not claim the shot was live. Typically in that situation the announcers will say something simple like “this was McIlroy a moment ago” without giving away what happened. Of course, viewers often know something big happened because they could hear the roar of the gallery in the background while another golfer was being shown live.
You can understand why Faldo was excited over what he called an “impossible shot.” Both McIlroy and playing partner Collin Morikawa made improbable bunker shots on 18 (video here). Even six-time major champions get swept up in the moment sometimes.
Photo: Apr 4, 2018; Augusta, GA, USA; Nick Faldo on the 9th green during the Par 3 Contest before the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports
