Having qualified for his first Masters since 2014, Scott Stallings said he had been “checking the mailbox five times a day” for the famous formal invitation from Augusta National Golf Club.
Stallings couldn’t have imagined it would happen like this.
The 37-year-old PGA Tour veteran shared Monday on Twitter that his 2023 invitation to the tournament had been erroneously sent to another Scott Stallings, a remarkable faux pas from the home of the Masters.
Scott Stallings has won three times on the PGA Tour and his wife is named Jennifer. The Scott Stallings who received the invitation also has a wife named Jennifer and said he has a condo in the same geographic proximity to the golfer, whose residence is in Knoxville, Tenn.
In a direct message to the golfer, the other Stallings said “I’m (emoji) 100 sure this is NOT for me. I play but wow! No where (sic) near your level.”
Among the many traditions of the Masters are the formal invitation cards that are mailed upon qualifying for the event; players delight in receiving them and frequently show them off on social media. Now we know the invitations arrive via UPS as part of “a very nice package complete with everything needed to attend,” the other Stallings wrote in his message.
The Masters was in the news last month when Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley said that all eligible players under the event’s current criteria would be invited, effectively providing the answer to the question of whether players from the controversial LIV Golf series would be allowed to play. A total of 16 players from the upstart league had qualified via various methods. Scott Stallings qualified by playing in the Tour Championship as one of the PGA Tour’s top 30 players in the final FedEx Cup standings.
Arrangements are being made for the correct Scott Stallings to get his invitation and packet, and don’t be surprised if Stallings—known as one of the nicer guys on the PGA Tour—sees to it that the “other” Scott and Jennifer Stallings get a trip to the Masters too, as patrons.
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