Matt James, The Bachelor from Season 25 that aired January 2021, was at the Pro-Am golf event when he set up to hit his ball with his 9-iron.
However, his swing, and the ball, did not go in the direction he had planned on it going. Instead of the golf ball going up in the air and soaring toward the flag and hole, his golf ball veered immediately to the right, just feet away from where he had been standing. Not only did it jet right, but it zoomed inline drive formation, straight into a golf photographer’s face.
Was the golf photographer Matt James accidentally hit with the golf ball ok?
As the video began, and Matt took his swing, you could hear the loud gasp and surprised exhales from the crowd of people, as the golf ball hit the photographer who was kneeling on the ground.
While the crowd checked on the photographer, and the announcer was bent over laughing, viewers could see Matt jog over to the man to check on him.
Matt, in an interview, stated, “I’m just really glad he’s not hurt. The first thing I did was make sure he was okay. We came within centimeters of causing some real damage.
What did Matt have to say to the photographer after the incident?
Then, with a bit more humor to his voice, Matt commented that “I offered him a little souvenir…I offered him the ball that almost took him…and he turned it down. I’m gonna try to find him; I’m going to sign this ball for him, and I’m going to take him out to dinner.”
Matt continued by saying later one, “I was not aiming for you. Frankly, I don’t think I was aiming for anything, and that’s the problem. I probably should have never stepped out here. I was telling the guys earlier that I had spent about six hours at Top Golf, but that didn’t pay off at all.
He wanted everyone to know: “I will be back next year, but don’t fret because I’m gonna put in a lot of work between now and then…and it’s only up.” He also wanted the photographer he hit with the ball to know, “I owe you a beer. I owe you dinner. I owe you my life.”
What did the photographer say back to Matt?
The camera crew actually caught up to that said photographer, and he was shocked to know that the whole incident was actually caught on video. He astonishingly asked, “Oh, there’s a video?!”
As he watched, he laughed deeply, and declared of Matt, “He’s a good guy…He’s a good guy. He felt bad; I felt it, so that was good. Like I said, next year…I’m wearing a cup.” Good idea, Mr. Golf Photographer. Good idea.
The Bachelor airs Mondays 8/7c on ABC.