CNN
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TODAY, The Nearest Atlanta-Based Realtor Scott Stallings Have ever been to Augusta National Pass has a Costco.
Despite years of trying, he was never able to secure tickets to see the coveted masters Tournaments on competent courses. As a golf fan from Georgia, attending a major remained an unspoken bucket list item.
Finally, on New Year’s Eve, a success. Thanks to a letter in the post to his condo in St. Simons Island, Stallings was visiting The Masters.
But not for viewing. To compete
Weeks later, some 4,600 miles (7,400 kilometers) away at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii, three-time PGA Tour winner Scott Stallings was wondering why his 2023 Masters invitation was taking so long to arrive.
A remarkable series of coincidences made a case of mistaken identity fit for Hollywood. If this was a movie script, surely the next step for the realtor was to grab his clubs and try his luck at the Masters in April?
“There was a twinkle in my eye just playing it in my head,” Stallings admitted to CNN’s Don Riddell. “It’s like the golden ticket to Willy Wonka.
“I have an identity card with my name on it, the invitation with my name on it – what’s to stop me from going through those gates?”
However, this was a fleeting thought, as realtor Stallings quickly realized how the mix-up had happened.
For years, he had closely followed the career of his pro-golf namesake. If the golfer was doing particularly well at an event, “Stallings 2.0” would often post a picture of the leaderboard on his social media to show how well “he” was doing.
But when the real estate agent and his wife, Jennifer, reached out to his counterpart via Instagram to tell them about the mistake, the golfer was skeptical. It was only when he added photo evidence of the letter – signed by Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley – and the sleek Masters green envelope containing it, that the intended recipient of the invitation was assured.
When the golfer later posted screenshots of the conversation on Twitter for his name, “a firestorm ensued.” With over 22 million views and 150,000 likes, the post went viral to Stallings. Comments flooded pro-golfers to take his name to Augusta for the tournament.
Golfer Stallings did one better, inviting the realtor and Jennifer to participate in both practice rounds, as well as to dinner with him and his wife — incredibly, who is also named Jennifer — while they were in town. are in
The realtor said, “Scott Stallings the golfer is just a great guy.” “It really is like winning the lottery.”
The fact that the Stallings’ wives share the same first name is just another extraordinary coincidence in the pair’s story.
Even more unlikely, realtor Stallings’ St. Simons condo just happens to be next door to the former headquarters of a management company that golfer Stallings joined when he last competed in The Masters in 2014.
According to the realtor, although the management company had shifted, the tournament organizers had not updated their records and sent invitations to the old address. When UPS came to deliver it, knowing Stallings was nearby, he posted the letter to the condo.
“Just unbelievable, real,” said the realtor. “I think it would be a great movie. I’m just waiting for Spielberg to call so we can make a deal.”
The script’s happy ending was confirmed by golfer Stallings last week. In a video shared on social media, he happily collects forwarded invitations from his mailbox before posing the letter to the camera.
As the video ends, wife Jennifer says, “Told you I didn’t have it.”
But Realtor Stallings is predicting another twist of fate from Lady Luck. A resurgent Rory McIlroy is likely to arrive at Augusta among the favorites of a star-studded field, yet golf fans are predicting the opposite.
You guessed it right, Scott Stallings, World No. 54: The Masters Champion 2023.