Tiger Woods was pranked by ex-girlfriend with baby squirrel who stole the show at Presidents Cup
Woods was pranked by his ex-girlfriend at the 2013 Presidents CupCredit: Getty
Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio provided the setting for this odd encounter as Woods and his United States teammates battled against an International team that featured Ernie Els, Charl Schwartzel and Adam Scott, who was world No. 2 at the time.
As the first day of play at the Presidents Cup neared its end, all of the U.S. stars had gathered on the hill near the 18th green to watch Jordan Spieth and Steve Stricker duke it out with Els and Brendon de Jonge.
The star-studded U.S. team were joined by their wives and girlfriends, but there was one extra supporter, if you could call them that, watching the action.
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That was, of course, Sammy the squirrel.
It was U.S captain’s assistant Davis Love III who first encountered the rodent on the second hole.
Fearing the furry creature could get trampled by the crowd, Love picked it up and fed it.
Love brought the squirrel with him in his golf cart over the course of the day and it quickly became the U.S. team’s unofficial mascot.
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The 60-year-old later explained why he decided to keep the squirrel close by.
“My dad always picked up sticks for good luck, and he told me I had to keep it as long as we were winning holes,” Love said.
There was also uncertainty as to what gender the squirrel was, so Stricker’s wife, Nicki, kept it safe and named it, ‘Sammy’.
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Sammy had largely been shielded from the spotlight by Love and had found a happy home in the captain’s assistant’s right pocket.
Little did the critter know it was about to take centre stage in the final hours of the first day.
Superstar skier Lindsey Vonn, who dated Woods at the time, held her hands in a cupped position to coax Sammy out of Love’s pocket.
Vonn picked up the squirrel out of Love’s pocketCredit: @PGATour on YouTube
But it was what Vonn did next that sent golf fans into meltdown.
Sat next to Woods in the golf cart, Vonn places Sammy on the superstar’s shoulder.
One would hope that with a first name of an animal, Woods would be receptive and at one with other creatures.
How wrong you would be.
Woods appeared visibly irritated as Vonn, Keegan Bradley and others look on and laugh at just how uncomfortable the 48-year-old looked.
Vonn held the critter in her hands and popped it onto Woods’ shoulderCredit: @PGATour on YouTube
But Woods was not having it and tried to shrug poor Sammy off of himCredit: @PGATour on YouTube
He even tried to shrug Sammy off, which prompted even more laughter from all.
However, Woods relented and allowed Sammy to sit on his shoulder as Vonn stroked the furry critter.
It was the peak of Sammy’s stint with the U.S. team, as Love took the squirrel back to where he found it.
However, Sammy was unable to reunite with their mother and was subsequently taken to the Ohio Wildlife Center.
In an interview with Golf.com, the centre’s community engagement coordinator Angela Latham said Sammy was ‘most likely abandoned’ and was only a few months old when he arrived at the site.
Woods eventually warmed to Sammy and let the squirrel sit on his shoulderCredit: @PGATour on YouTube
Latham also believed Sammy had ulterior motives behind his friendliness to the U.S. team.
“When young animals start approaching humans, they’re looking for food,” Latham said.
Sammy was taken back to the golf course and released in May 2014 having now become old enough to look after itself.
Given the average lifespan of a squirrel in the wild is approximately four to six years, unfortunately it is almost a certainty Sammy is no longer of this world.
However, Sammy made the most of its time on Earth by giving us one of the most iconic Presidents Cup moments over the years.
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The latest edition of the event begins on Thursday when Team USA defend their crown against the Internationals.
talkSPORT 2 will have live coverage of the event – starting at 10pm.
