How a Masters mail mix-up ended up making a golf fan's dream come true

"I feel like we've just entered the adult Walt Disney World," Atlanta realtor Scott Stallings said.

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Thursday, April 6, 2023

ATLANTA -- An Atlanta man is enjoying the trip of a lifetime to the Masters this week, all because of a mailing mistake.

Georgia realtor Scott Stallings happens to share the exact same name with a professional golfer who was invited to the tournament.

"It was probably five or six years ago when I saw him on TV and realized, wow there's another guy that has my name playing golf," Stallings told WSB-TV. "So every time I saw him playing on TV, I'd always take a picture and post it on Facebook."

Now he's enjoying his first trip to the Masters as a patron, fulfilling a lifelong dream.

"I feel like we've just entered the adult Walt Disney World," Stallings said.

The other Scott Stallings is a three-time PGA Tour winner competing on the sacred Augusta National Golf Course for the third time in his career.

Last New Year's Eve, their paths finally crossed when the invitation to play in this year's Masters was sent to the wrong Scott Stallings.

So, realtor Stallings sent the invitation back to the rightful owner, and in return, golfer Stallings hooked him up with tickets and an invitation to join him for dinner.

"Just the excitement of receiving anything from Augusta National and then you know, kind of hearing the back and forth of him thinking that was his tickets and it was a ticket, I guess. Just a different kind," the golfer said.

But that's not all Stallings gave him - he also surprised him with a once-in-a-lifetime gift.

"It turns out he framed the invitation and signed it from one Scott Stallings to the next," the realtor said. "I can't believe it. It's amazing. I said, 'you can't part with the invitation.' He said, 'it's done its job.'"

And it's not just these two men who share the same name: their wives are both also named Jenny.