The Spaniard already was having a rough time at Bay Hill – he made a 9 on the par-5 sixth hole – when his tee shot at No. 10 landed in a saddle between the oak’s main limbs, about four metres above the ground.
Garcia looked up in the tree, stood on a cart and leapt to pull himself up into the tree, then studied his options before playing a one-handed, back-handed shot out to the fairway.
“I knew they were looking around the tree,” said another pro, William McGirt. “I didn’t know they were looking in the tree.
“I looked over and Sergio is up in the air, and I’m trying to figure out what in the hell he’s going to do. He called for a club. He’s hugging the tree. And the ball comes flying out. Are you kidding me?”
Sadly for Garcia, he chunked his next shot and wound up with a double bogey. Two holes later, play was suspended because of a violent thunderstorm.