Tiger Woods has made millions of dollars playing golf, so why was he rummaging through a woman’s handbag during Friday’s second round of the Valspar Championship?
Woods, who charged into contention with a 3-under-par 68, hit his second shot at the par-4 ninth hole -- his final hole of the day -- to the right of the green. It landed in the handbag of Marianne Cousins, a 57-year-old resident of Clearwater, Florida, who was attending her first golf tournament, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
“We knew when he hit it, and then of course I didn't see it,” said Cousins told the Times. "All day I've been saying 'I don't even see them. How do people even see the ball until it hits on the green? All of sudden my friends started screaming, "It's in your bag!”
Cousins carries a clear plastic bag, one she takes to Tampa Bay Buccaneers games, where she is a season-ticket holder, the Times reported.
People around Cousins told her not to move, and definitely warned her not to touch the errant golf ball that was nestled in her handbag.
“I just froze there,” Cousins told the Times. “When Tiger came up and said ‘where's the ball?’ I said, ‘In my bag. Between my feet. I didn't touch it.’
"And he said, ‘thank you.’”
By rule, Cousins’ bag was considered an obstruction, which allowed him to take a free drop. So Woods reached into Cousins’ bag and continued playing. He chipped to within six feet but missed his par putt for his only bogey of the round, the Times reported.
Woods ended Friday in a five-way tie for second place, two strokes behind leader Corey Conners, ESPN reported.
