Matt Every had his reasons.
The former PGA Tour knows the story sounds bad. It is, by definition, hard 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 at the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village. Why? He and his caddie were squabbling as the round wound down.
“I’m going to look so bad for this,” Every told GOLF Subpar Podcast co-hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stolz. “I was with [caddie Derek Mason]. We were in a little tiff. It was the Memorial. I was going to miss the cut. I was finishing on the front. [It was to the point] where even if I went eagle, birdie, birdie, I was still missing [the cut]. The math wasn’t mathing. We’re done.”
The walk back from the sixth green to the par-5 seventh tee is long, and Mason elected to forecaddie on the hole. So he handed Every his driver and waited.
“He knows I hate when he forecaddies,” Every recalled. “We fought like brothers. This was a two-way relationship. This wasn’t caddie abuse. This was me giving it to him. We’re walking back and I’m playing with Brian Stuard and I think [Jason] Kokrak might have been the other guy. I go, ‘That piece of crap forecaddying up there.’ And Stuard’s guy goes, ‘I bet you won’t hit it out of bounds on purpose.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I will. Which way do you want it right or left?’ So I went right. The bet was that he had to come back and hand me the ball. He could’t toss it. It was so hot. He starts coming up the hill, and I’m not looking at him. He hands me the ball and they all start laughing. The rest is history.”
To hear more from Every, check out the entire episode below.
Josh Schrock
Golf.com Editor
Josh Schrock is a writer and reporter for Golf.com. Before joining GOLF, Josh was the Chicago Bears insider for NBC Sports Chicago. He previously covered the 49ers and Warriors for NBC Sports Bay Area. A native Oregonian and UO alum, Josh spends his free time hiking with his wife and dog, thinking of how the Ducks will break his heart again, and trying to become semi-proficient at chipping. A true romantic for golf, Josh will never stop trying to break 90 and never lose faith that Rory McIlroy’s major drought will end (updated: he did it). Josh Schrock can be reached at josh.schrock@golf.com.