Hollywood actor Chris Pratt has revealed the time he met golfing legend Tiger Woods, sharing what he calls “the best story of my life”.
In 2019 Woods started the Genesis Open Celebrity Cup, where Pratt, alongside athletes and entertainers, played at the Riviera Country Club in Southern California.
It’s the home of the $US20 million event where he returned for the first time since last years’ British Open after his horror car crash.
However, he caused a stir when he placed a tampon in the hand of playing partner Justin Thomas on the opening day.
Chris Pratt and his wife Katherine Schwarzenegger. Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images
But Pratt, who was appearing on the first episode of Nick Faldo’s YouTube series 18 with Sir Nick, revealed one of his first meetings with Woods.
“It must have been the first one I played at because I was really nervous,” Pratt began.
“I was out on the range early and just driving the ball and it was just going everywhere.
“And periodically, you’ll see me wearing these glasses, I’m kind of blind, so I was playing with a bright yellow ball and my idea was that I’ll be able to see it.
“So anyway, they say ‘Mr Pratt, your tee time is up’ so I go up onto the 10th tee — and there’s Tiger Woods.
“He looks at me and goes ‘yellow ball huh?’
“I was like ‘oh god’. My instinct as an actor and comedic person is to self-deprecate and the line than came to my head was ‘it’s going to be a lot easier to find in the bushes after I hit it’.
“So instead I said ‘I don’t have great eyes so if it’s a white ball, I can’t see it past 300-yards’.
“And he goes ‘oh, alright then’.
“I was an 18-handicap at the time and I line up and sure enough it just happens to be one of the best, most pure drives of my life. I striped it right down the middle and held the pose in front of everybody and Tiger goes ‘18-handicap? Sandbagging motherf**ker’.
“Oh my god, it’s the best story of my life.”
You have to imagine Pratt strutted down the fairway from there.
For those who don’t know, sandbagging is lowering expectations so you give better than anticipated results.
Pratt said he’s been “obsessed” with golf in the past five years — with about a 9-handicap, although he’s never broken 80.
In a previous video posted to Instagram, Pratt spoke about the struggles he’s had with his development as a golfer. “Here’s me practising 9’ putts over and over again obsessively because the only way to get better is to practice,” Pratt wrote in the caption. “When it’s good, it’s real good (very rarely) but when it’s bad I want to throw my clubs off a bridge. “I wish I was man enough to quit golf. “I can’t quit you! “Golf is mean to me. She’s cruel. She’s downright abusive. “But I guess I love her. I guess that’s love. “I must love this game. It drives me crazy. And here I am obsessing about it. “Posting about it. Oh, what a fool you’ve made of me golf.
Pratt is known for his roles as Star-Lord in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy and in the Jurassic World series, as well Parks and Recreation.
Tiger Woods has an interesting way of praising people. Photo by Cliff Hawkins / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP
Woods was heavily criticised for his tampon prank but he is still one of the PGA Tour’s biggest drawcards.
The 47-year-old will continue to play on the tour but likely limit his tournaments to majors.
“I’m not going to play any more than probably the majors and maybe a couple more,” he said.
“That’s it, that’s all my body will allow me to do. My back the way it is, all the surgeries I had on my back, my leg the way it is, I just can’t. That’s just going to be my future.
“So my intent last year was to play in all four majors, I got three of the four. Hopefully, this year I can get all four and maybe sprinkle in a few here and there. But that’s it for the rest of my career. I know that and I understand that. That‘s just my reality.”
Source: News