Masters patron has been close to golfers before

Ted Mortell was hoping Jonas Blixt’s errant tee shot hit him Monday when the gallery guards shouted “fore right” on No. 2 during the first day of practice rounds at the Masters Tournament.

Mortell, 50, figured the Swede might offer an autographed golf glove to apologize, like Phil Mickelson did in 2012 after slicing a ball into a fan’s shorts during the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles.

Blixt’s ball, however, landed 10 feet short of the Stuart, Fla., resident in the pine straw walkway bordering the eighth fairway.

Mortell, who is attending his second Masters in two years, lives 10 minutes from four-time Masters champion Tiger Woods and is a friend of Ken Duke, who played the Masters last year but missed the cut. Mortell walked and talked with Duke throughout last year’s practice rounds.

“I had such a blast last year that I wanted to come back,” Mortell said. “Unfortunately, Ken didn’t make it this year. I am going to have to talk to him about that.”

Mortell said he saw a few errant tee shots last year because of a rainy practice round, but not many recoveries like Blixt’s.

“What a great shot – under the trees and onto the green,” he said after Blixt, a runner-up in last year’s Masters, hit from the woods.

SLIDESHOW: Monday's Masters Patrons