Matt Every had his reasons.
The former PGA Tour knows the story sounds bad. It is, by definition, difficult to justify intentionally hitting the ball out of bounds as a professional golfer.
And yet Every did just that during the final holes of a march to a missed cut on the Memorial Tour at Muirfield Village. Why? He and his caddy were arguing as the round went down.
“I’m going to look really bad for that,” Every said GOLF Podcast subpar co-hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stolz. “I was with (caddie Derek Mason). We were in a tough situation. It was the Memorial. I’d miss the cut. I was running out on the front. (It was) to the point where even if I went eagle, birdie, birdie, I was still missing (the cut). The math didn’t add up. We’re done.”
The return walk from the sixth green to the par-5 seventh tee is long and Mason chose to predict on the hole. So he gave Each his driver and waited.
“He knows I hate it when he predicts,” Every recalled. “We fought like brothers. That was a two-way relationship. That wasn’t abuse of the pitcher. That was me giving it to him. We’re going back and I’m playing with Brian Stuard and I think (Jason) Kokrak might have been the other guy. And Stuard’s guy says, ‘I bet you’re not going to hit him out of bounds on purpose.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I will. Which way do you want it right or left?’ So I went straight. The bet was that he had to go back and give me the ball. He couldn’t throw it away. It was so hot. He starts up the hill, and I’m not looking. He hands me the ball and everyone starts laughing. The rest is history.”
To hear more from Every, watch the entire episode below.
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Josh Schrock
Editor of Golf.com
Josh Schrock is a writer and reporter for Golf.com. Prior to joining GOLF, Josh was the Chicago Bears insider for NBC Sports Chicago. He previously covered the 49ers and Warriors for NBC Sports Bay Area. An Oregonian and UO native, Josh spends his free time walking his wife and dog, thinking about how the Ducks are going to break his heart again, and trying to become semi-proficient at scratch. A true golf romantic, Josh will never stop trying to break 90 and will never lose faith that Rory McIlroy’s drought will end (update: he did it). Josh Schrock can be reached at josh.schrock@golf.com.
