Lucky fan gets souvenir from super stroke

When Louis Oosthuizen threw his albatross ball into the crowd on the second green, a little piece of Augusta history landed on one lucky patron’s lap.

Wayne Mitchell, who hails from the village of New Tripoli in Pennsylvania, caught the ball and almost immediately put it into his pocket.

“My biggest fear was that I would drop it,” he said later. “I’m not a souvenir chaser. But there were about 100 people behind me who would have gone for it.”

Once Oosthuizen and the following pairing finished the second hole, a couple of club members escorted Mitchell and his wife away from the green. Mitchell took a moment to speak to the media, but kept the ball in his pocket.

How much might the ball be worth? Green Jacket Auctions immediately offered $20,000 (€15,300) for it on Twitter if Oosthuizen won. But Mitchell said he’d be “respectful” of the club.

And if Oosthuizen won and if the club wanted to display the ball, and asked for it? “I’d certainly listen,” Mitchell said with a poker face.

Asked if he would play the lottery on his way home, he smiled and said: “Why would I need to?”