It was intentional in the sense that Garcia was trying to get his tee shot on the 115-yard 13th hole as close to the hole and the wicker basket on a stick as possible, if not even in the hole. But what happened in his Wednesday practice round was the result of being too good.
Sergio Garcia inspects the wicker basket he struck with his tee shot during Wednesday's practice round.
Garcia took a wedge back little more than halfway in his backswing and hit a boring shot right at the stick. The ball actually landed on top of the wicker basket, bounced to the fringe in the back of the green and then spun back towards the middle of the green. When the ball finally stopped, it was 15 feet from the hole.
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There was some question as to how Philadelphia fans would treat Garcia, but there was no doubt that the several hundred people surrounding the green approved of Garcia at this moment at least. Needless to say, he got a huge round of applause.
[Click here for more of the TheLevel's 2013 U.S. Open coverage]
Upon reaching the green, Sergio inspected the basket and after putting out, tossed the ball into the crowd, earning another round of applause.
Photo and story by T.R. Goyne. Follow on Twitter: @doctomg.