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Ever been hit by an errant golf ball? What are the odds? 10,000 to 1? A million to 1? Will never happen to me?

Guess what? It happened to me while on a practice round at the FilAm tournament in Baguio last December. It was on the 157-yard par-3 11th hole at Camp John Hay on the day before the tournament day when a team mate shanked his tee-shot off to the down-sloping, pine tree-laden rough on the right-hand side of the fairway.

My tee-shot was in regulation and was happily walking towards the green un-mindful of the player who was taking his second shot. He "punched" his shot to play out of the rough but since he was way down the slope he couldn't see the other players on the fairway.The next thing I heard was "FORE!" and a loud thud!

"I'm hit!," were the first words out of my mouth before I dropped to my knees. I probably saw a gazillion stars coming out of the corner of my eyes as I probed my head with my hands. No blood, hah! But the stinging pain was throbbing behind my ears and I can barely hear anybody who were trying to help me get up.

Luckily, human reflex allowed me to cover my temple with my forearm and a good portion of my head with my hand. The ball actually hit the inner portion of my thumb and the padding on my visor. This cushioned the impact of a rather direct hit to the back-side of my skull. I don't remember the actual pain after I got hit but it was enough to put my 160-pound frame to my knees.

I didn't feel sorry for myself but felt for the other player because he was so pale as a summer moon as he was profusely apologizing to me and sweating at the same time. "Am I lucky today... am I lucky today" was all I could mutter while walking towards the green. No bumps, no bruises and it's all part of the sport. Just a sore thumb and an unforgettable "first" in my 17 years of playing this game.

And to put an exclamation point to my lucky day, I sank the 25-foot putt and birdied that little sucker.