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The saying goes you should never meet your heroes.
Let alone have a coming together, quite literally, in a moment as embarrassing as it was accidental.
The scene is underneath the bleachers behind the 8th green at Hazeltine National golf course in Minnesota.
The home of the 2016 Ryder Cup and a truly epic duel in the Sunday singles between Rory McIlroy and American firebrand Patrick Reed.
The atmosphere was febrile.
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There was no love between the duo, who traded blow after blow in a bid to knock the other one down.
It was the top match and the pair of them gave delirious fans what they'd come to see.
Birdies were traded over the opening seven holes, but what happened on the eighth became the stuff of legend and resulted in one of the most-watched moments in Ryder Cup history.
McIlroy's tee shot to the par-three came up some 60 feet short of the flag, leaving him a tough task to get down in two, while Reed was pin-high but in the left fringe – 20 feet from the target.
The European talisman exploded in celebration when his putt dropped for an unlikely two, and he was happy to let the baying crowd know: "I can't hear you, I can't hear you" as he wheeled away.
But, after the noise subsided, Reed calmly rolled in his putt for the half and the pair marched to the next tee full of admiration and respect for one another.
But not before the watching media, match officials and a certain Tiger Woods all attempted to fit through a tunnel to the next hole which was cramped to say the least.
Woods wasn't playing due to injury, so took on the role as one of the vice captains.
And he looked less than impressed when yours truly turned round to head towards the next hole, only to crash straight into the golfing legend.
He didn't see the funny side amid all the surrounding mayhem.
Unlike some of my colleagues.
But he was happier at the end, because Reed eventually got the better of McIlroy in a match that went the distance – and will live long in the memory for more reasons than one.
- Tiger Woods
- Golf
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