ST. SIMONS, Ga. — Professional golfer Scott Stallings has been waiting for his physical invitation from Augusta National to play in the Masters this year.
Only one problem though: His invitation got sent to a different Scott Stallings who lives in Georgia.
“Literally had been checking the mailbox five times a day and then I got this random DM yesterday,” Stallings posted on Twitter.
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Another name coincidence? Both of the men’s wives are named Jennifer. Channel 2 Action News spoke to the Scott and Jennifer Stallings in Georgia over the phone Monday morning.
The Stallings, who live in Chamblee, just bought their condo on St. Simons Island a few months ago. The couple drove down this weekend to celebrate New Year’s Eve. As they were unloading the car, Jennifer noticed a package on the front step.
When she opened it, the couple couldn’t believe what was inside.
“She said, ‘Oh my god you’re going to the Masters!’ We thought it was random tickets and she says, ‘No you’re playing!’” Scott Stallings told Channel 2. “I knew immediately then it was the other Scott Stallings.”
The couple at first wondered how they could get in touch with the PGA golfer. Then, Jennifer, the social media guru of the family, went to work and sent the golfer messages on Instagram.
“We took a picture of it and direct messaged it to Scott Stallings. At first he thought it was a joke,” Scott said.
“He sent back a smiling face emoji,” Jennifer said.
“He called us last night and it went to the voicemail. ‘Hey this is the other Scott Stallings. Thanks for the information. Call me tomorrow,’” Scott said.
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The couple woke up thousands of comments after Stallings posted their message on his Instagram and Twitter pages. As of 12:50 p.m., the tweet has 3.9 million views, almost 34.7K likes and 2,600 retweets.
“The comments are just hilarious. I had no idea this would explode. Definitely changed my plans for the day,” Scott said. “I haven’t spoken to him yet and called back and got his voicemail.”
As for an explanation for the mix-up? The Stallings think the package was intended to go to a rental condo in the neighborhood.
“The letter on the inside didn’t match the letter address. The address is right around the corner from us, though,” Scott said.
The Stallings are avid golfers, but they have never been able to attend the Masters. They feel like their luck may be changing.
“It’s always been a bucket list item. Just never pursued it. It’s like winning the lottery, maybe we better go get a ticket. Maybe we have luck on our side,” Scott said.
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