Chris Pratt has made a name for himself among the general audience through various high-grossing commercial films while sharing voice acting credits in leading roles for animated films like The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Onward, and The Lego Movie. But not even these Hollywood endeavors could account for the best story in the actor’s life, intricately connected to his love for golf and an interaction he once shared with golfing legend and pop culture icon Tiger Woods.
Pratt, a mainstay in the Genesis Open Celebrity Cup at the Riviera Country Club that Woods inaugurated in 2019, recounted a hilarious encounter he shared with the latter during the tournament. In an appearance on a video for the YouTube series “18 With Sir Nick,” the Hollywood star told professional golfer Nick Faldo about one of his earliest meetings with Woods, where he was called a “sandbagging motherf—ker” by the legendary personality.
Chris Pratt’s Iconic Interaction With Golfing Legend Tiger Woods
Appearing on Sir Nick Faldo’s video series (via YouTube), Pratt recounted the story of hitting the best shot of his life in the presence of golfing icon Tiger Woods. Of the Genesis Open Celebrity Cup tournament, the Jurassic Park alum said, “It must have been the first one I played at because I was really nervous,” The 44-year-old recalled, in the moment of his anxiousness, being out in the range early where he was driving the ball, but it was going everywhere.
Because of his poor eyesight, Chris Pratt was using a bright yellow ball to play with at the time. He also donned glasses. The prominent star had to go to the tenth tee after being told that his tee time was up, which is when he bumped into Woods. Describing the scenario to Faldo, Pratt stated:
“They say ‘Mr. Pratt, your tee time is up,’ so I go up onto the 10th tee—and there’s Tiger Woods. He looks at me and goes, ‘Yellow ball, huh?’ I was like, ‘Oh god.’ My instinct, as an actor and comedic person, is to self-deprecate, and the line that came to my head was, ‘It’s going to be a lot easier to find in the bushes after I hit it.'”
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Instead of saying what he thought of in his mind, the actor affirmed, “I don’t have great eyes, so if it’s a white ball, I can’t see it past 300 yards.” According to Pratt, Woods replied, “Oh, alright then.”
In contrast to one’s expectations, considering the actor’s explanation for his eyesight and his 18-handicap at the time, the Parks and Recreation alum excelled at the task at hand, hitting the best shot of his life. He recalled:
“I was an 18-handicap at the time, and I line up, and sure enough, it just happens to be one of the best—most pure strikes of my life. I striped it right down the middle and held the pose in front of everybody, and Tiger goes ‘18-handicap? Sandbagging motherf—ker’. Oh my god, it’s the best story of my life.”
In case you’re not aware, sandbagging is dubbed a strategy of lowering the expectations attached to one’s abilities or proficiencies to generate outcomes comparatively higher in quality than anticipated. In a nutshell, Chris Pratt had impressed Tiger Woods with his golfing skills.
Chris Pratt Wants To See A Mario Golf Movie
Besides playing in golf tournaments and casually stunning pro-golfer Tiger Woods with his proficiency—something a few could only dream of—Pratt’s love and obsession for the club-and-ball sport runs deep. So deep that the voice actor behind Mario in the 2023 film, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, would love to see a future installment playing around the idea of a Mario Golf film.
In an interview with CBR, during the promotional period for the animated film, the interviewer wondered which setting from the vast Mario Universe Chris Pratt and Charlie Day (Luigi) would like to see being adapted for a potential sequel and what aspects would be appealing to explore if a second film goes into production.
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The interviewer throwing out hope for ‘an intense golf film’ reaped elated reactions from the two voice actors, who seemed to entertain the idea. “Oh, Mario Golf! Let’s go!” the MCU star exclaimed. Co-star and the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia alum was equally enthusiastic about the premise, stating that he would enjoy seeing a golf-centric Mario film. “That would be good. I’m into that,” added Pratt.
Last year, reports alluded that Universal plans on making a franchise around the 2023 film, with speculated sequels and spin-offs. With that in mind, a future film adaptation influenced by the Mario Golf games could be an intriguing concept to play around with. Plus, it’d make Chris Pratt presumably very happy.
We’ll soon learn what lies ahead for the enthusiasts of the video game franchise.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is available for viewing on Netflix.
