Garcia scales tree to hit miracle shot

Spaniard hits one-handed, back-hand shot from up a tree at Bay Hill

Sergio Garcia produced one of the most remarkable shots ever caught on camera during the fourth round of the Arnold Palmer Bay Hill Invitational.

After a wild tee shot at the tenth hole, Garcia found his ball lodged between two limbs of a tree some 15 feet off the ground. Undeterred, he climbed the tree and played a one-handed, back-handed shot out onto the fairway, drawing huge applause from a stunned crowd.

“First, I went up there to identify the ball and then saw that I could make the shot with just one hand,” Garcia said later on his website. “Luckily, it went well.”

Unfortunately for the Spaniard, he was still unable to avoid making a double-bogey on the hole and, after a huge storm blew in to force the rest of the day’s play to be called off, the 33-year-old withdrew from the tournament despite having only six holes left to play.

Evidently, Garcia’s tree stunt caused him to aggravate shoulder and Achilles tendon injuries and he did not want to do himself any further damage with the Masters looming.

Reporters on-site at Bay Hill also reported how Garcia had complained of low energy levels and a lack of enthusiasm during the weekend.

On his website, he added: “I wanted to continue and finish the round and the tournament, in spite of it not being the best of days,” Garcia said. “But the discomfort would have been more, and I decided not to continue to avoid hurting me more.”

Sergio, of course, has previous when it comes to playing improbable shots from trees. During the 1999 PGA Championship at Medinah, he famously hit a shot from the base of a tree trunk with his eyes tightly shut as he chased down eventual winner Tiger Woods.

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor