Wrong man receives invite to play in Masters Tournament in humorous mix-up: 'It’s like getting an invitation to heaven from God'

There are at least two men named Scott Stallings with ties to St. Simons Island, Georgia. Both men have wives named Jennifer, and both play golf. However, one Scott Stallings is better at the game than the other. Much better. In fact, 37-year-old Scott Stallings of Tennessee was supposed to receive an invitation to the 2023 Masters Tournament in April, but the other Scott Stallings, whose age is unknown but who appears slightly older than 37, received the invitation instead. The humorous mix-up was soon made right, thanks to a few direct messages on Instagram.

On January 2, pro golfer Stallings wrote on Instagram that he had been checking his mailbox "five times a day" in the last few weeks, knowing that he had qualified for the Masters and seeing that other pro golfers had already posted pictures of their invitations on social media. But day after day, he walked away without the coveted letter.

Then he received a DM from another man with the same name, and that DM seemed to solve the mystery of the missing invite. After explaining the similarities the two men share, the other Stallings said that he had received an interesting FedEx package that likely had been misdirected.

"I’m (100%) sure this is NOT for me. I play but wow! No where near your level," the other Stallings' Instagram message read in part. "It’s a very nice package complete with everything needed to attend. I think we have some confusion because of our names, our wife’s names and geographical location. I can be reached at [redacted] and I am more than happy to send this package to you."

The amateur golfer Stallings, who boasts a handicap in the 90s, then shared his next steps on Twitter, joking that he was magnanimously sending his Masters invitation to "the other Scott Stallings."

The story quickly went viral, and the two men have since made at least one appearance together. In a recent virtual chat with OutKick, the other Stallings described the feeling he experienced when he received the Masters invitation: "It's like getting an invitation to heaven from God."

Though the cause of the mix-up remains unknown, pro golfer Stallings used to own a sports management company with an office next door to a condo that amateur golfer Stallings and his wife own in St. Simons Island, Georgia, along the Atlantic coast. Perhaps that connection created confusion for tournament officials.

Whatever the cause, the two men have found an amicable solution. This April will mark pro golfer Stallings' third appearance at the Masters. He tied for 27th place in the 2012 tournament. He is currently in Hawaii, playing in the Sentry Tournament of Champions. He has promised to provide Masters practice-round tickets to the other Scott and Jennifer and to take the couple out to dinner sometime that week "for doing the right thing."