While the major professional golf tours of the world are on pause for at least another 45 days, several developmental tours and mini-tours have continued putting on events. In particular, tours in Arizona, like the Outlaw Tour and Cactus Tour, have been places for up-and-coming pros to make money.
However, with regulations in place at every golf course these tours could be playing, finding a practice facility can be difficult. That's why Eddie Olson has been practicing in a public park. He has been setting up a makeshift range in a wide-open space, setting out a deck umbrella at 100 yards to hit wedges and other partial shots. The practice has been paying off, as he just finished runner-up in the Parker Open.
But a park passer-by didn't realize what was happening when they stumbled upon the umbrella as they were taking a walk -- and it almost cost Olson his driving range.
Our Ryan French shared video Olson had of the incident because he was taping his swing for analysis.
Eddie Olson who lost in playoff today, had only been able to practice at a park leading up to event. He would place his umbrella at 100 yds to hit at. And while he was filming his swing....someone jumped fence and tried to steal his umbrella and he had to run them down..???????????? pic.twitter.com/1N57Lz8tRu
— Monday Q Info (@acaseofthegolf1) April 27, 2020
You can see Olson hitting a shot, then watching it land. In the background of the frame, someone is walking along what appears to be a trail when they see the umbrella and start making a line for it. They grab the umbrella and start to walk off with it.
Meanwhile, Olson realizes what is happening and then starts to track down the person in question, shouting toward them downrange.
Fortunately, the unintentional thief hears Olson and stops. While the video doesn't show the resolution, it seems reasonable to assume everything worked out just fine.
