Mike Reasor started the 1974 Tallahassee Open in a usual manner for a Tour professional, shooting even par over the first two rounds to make the cut going into the weekend. What happened next may be one of the most unusual stories in golf history…

After Reasor’s second round he went horseback riding for leisure. During the ride his horse was spooked and it collided with a tree giving Reasor various injuries throughout his body. His injuries were significant: torn rib cartilege, damaged knee ligaments, separated left shoulder. He needed to finish the tournament to keep his extemption status for the Byron Nelson Classic two weeks later. He didn’t know if he’d be healthy enough to play the next week, but he was a journeyman and he knew he had to finish out the Tallahassee Open to hold onto that exemption from the next qualifier. So that’s what Reasor did, playing one-handed, hitting 5-iron only, posting scores of 123 and 114. When the Tallahassee Open was finished, Reasor’s score was 93-over 381.

“What a way to get recognition,” Reasor said. But the 32‐year‐old Seattle resident said he would play again tomorrow with one arm in order to complete the tournament and qualify for next week’s tour event. “You should have seen them laughing on the first tee today,” Reasor said. “I stepped up with a 5‐iron and barely got it to the ladies’ tee.” Tightly grasping the club in his right hand, Rea sor stuck to his 5‐iron for all tee and fairway shots. -The New York Times the day after Reasor’s incident

In the end…it was all for nothing. Reasor wouldn’t recover from his horseback riding injuries for another month, consequently missing the Byron Nelson Invitational.