Shirtless PGA Tour Pro Becomes a Laughing Stock As Pesky Skin Problem Grabs Golf Fans’ Attention

Day 3 had hardly anything for Chandler Phillips to remember for a long time. He and his partner, Jacob Bridgeman, had started the day on 14 under par in T4 and only managed to score 4 under par in the four-ball format, where low scores are generally expected. Currently T27 on the leaderboard, they are nine strokes off the lead and have an uphill battle to pose a challenge for the title. Hey, the day could have gotten worse. Phillips could have been attacked by an alligator. Not kidding!

So, what happened is that on the 16th hole at the TPC Louisiana, Phillips’s shot was perilously close to the water, which had alligators on it. Phillips removed his shirt and shoes to hit his ball, which landed on the far side of the green, thankfully. It was an intense moment and something that will stay in Phillips’s mind for a long time. The whole incident is reminiscent of the 2021 incident in the Honda Classic.

During Round 2 of the event, Wesley Bryan had stripped himself to his boxers, removing his shoes and tying up his shirt in a bikini style to attempt a shot on the par-4 16th hole. The ball had landed right on the edge of the water, and Bryan had to step onto the marshy terrain, with muddy water reaching halfway up his calves. His shot was good and landed safely, but Bryan had to tiptoe his way around the marsh to prevent any mud from falling on him. Should have removed the shirt like Phillips did!

Phillips will not forget the moment. Even the PGA Tour was appreciative of the peculiarity of the situation, putting up a post with the caption ‘beware of the gators @chandlerphillips6520,’ which details the escapades of the 28-year-old by the water at the 16th hole visually.

While fans were quick to react to the post about the incident, what astonished many was the pesky tan line that Phillips had (LITERALLY EVERY GOLFER’S NIGHTMARE) and not his daring shot in the middle of a gator-infested pond.

Fans quip on Chandler Phillips’s tan line

A farmer’s tan is a tan line caused by clothing, which in most cases is a short-sleeved shirt. Phillips’s tan lines are clearly visible, with his arms from above his elbow bronzed significantly compared to the rest of his torso. Even his lower body was visibly tanned except for his feet, which were untouched by the sun, seemingly due to his shoes and socks. One user commented, “The farmer’s tan is great, but the sock tan line is even better.”

Another user quipped that his white torso with his chest hair looks a lot like another shirt. An impressive shirt, in that case. “Love the white shirt with faux fur on the front!” The netizen ridiculed Phillips’s tan line. Chandler Phillips’s untanned torso has one fan thinking of another idea. He can get a spray tanning company to be a sponsor for him and use his torso as a way to spread the word about the effectiveness of the company’s methods. Sounds good. So, spray tanning companies, if you are reading, do read what this user commented: “He needs a spray tanning company as a sponsor.”

With such a low threshold for the sun, the Texas A&M University alum should be more afraid of the effect of the sunlight rather than the alligators in the pond, at least according to one netizen’s quip, “Gators? He better be concerned about that sun in Louisiana.”

One fan went a different route, praising the American golfer for being brave enough to take a shot right next to the water, which had alligators in it. Being raised in Huntsville, Texas, surely removed a few fear cells from his body, according to the fan, who commented, “Haha, that Huntsville kid @chandlerphillips6520 ain’t scared of no gators!!”

Do you think you would have done the same in the exact situation, i.e., a) exposed your ridiculous tan line to the world and b) taken a shot mere inches from a pond teeming with an alligator? Well, we all now know that Chandler Phillips will.