Will Zalatoris almost chipped in from just off the green on the 16th hole of the Scottish Open. While his ball failed to find the bottom of the cup, he ended up with something even rarer than holing out.
His ball stopped perfectly on partner Matt Fitzpatrick’s ball marker.
Zalatoris’s birdie shot crossed the long, links green at North Berwick’s The Renaissance Club, kissed the edge of the cup without hitting the pin, and then took a direct path to Fitzpatrick’s poker chip marker. And that’s where it stayed, balancing perfectly on a spot roughly the same diameter as the ball itself:
What are the odds?!?@WillZalatoris' chip shot miraculously ended up right on @MattFitz94's ball marker 😲 pic.twitter.com/OUeFmBT4xW
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 7, 2022
It was such a rare coincidence that the group’s caddies felt compelled to document it. Here it is up close, from Zalatoris’s Instagram story:
You can say that again @WillZalatoris 😂 pic.twitter.com/ndNEUlzTA0
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 7, 2022
Zalatoris was away and sunk his putt to save par. Fitzpatrick, having seen the exact line of the putt he’d have to make, also found the bottom of the cup for a five. Each finished their opening round at +1.