Tiger Woods and Verne Lundquist farewell goes viral because of tree

So, a tree shakes hands with a guy named Woods....

It may sound like the start of a really bad joke, but it looked like it became a reality on Sunday at the Masters.

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As Tiger Woods walked off the green on the 16th hole during his final round of the tournament, he approached legendary broadcaster Verne Lundquist, who is covering the 40th and final Masters of his career.

Tiger Woods took a moment during his round to share a handshake with longtime broadcaster Verne Lundquist ❤️

Lundquist will be retiring from his coverage at the Masters after this year's tournament. #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/J8fZKxv8Va
— ESPN (@espn) April 14, 2024

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The two legends shook hands.

Only problem was that viewers couldn't see Lundquist, who was blocked by one of Augusta National Golf Club's towering trees that he had been seated alongside of. That made it appear on screen as if his hand was sticking out of a tree's trunk.

One of the all-time tree blocking moments:

Tiger honoring Verne Lundquist….. pic.twitter.com/qGZxGyHpsW
— Carmichael Dave (@CarmichaelDave) April 14, 2024

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Tiger Woods moment with legendary Masters broadcaster Verne Lundquist is already becoming a meme 😭 pic.twitter.com/zBTIIR6Fu6
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 14, 2024

The camera angle created a viral image and instant meme on social media.

Tiger Woods shaking the hand of his favorite tree at Augusta. Nothing but class pic.twitter.com/tQa6LBPrDj
— Clem (@TheClemReport) April 14, 2024

When I ask for my receipt to be emailed instead of printed pic.twitter.com/LDjb8l3IXk
— Dylan Hornik (@_Hornik_) April 14, 2024

Pretty cool seeing Tiger shake hands with a tree today at #themasters pic.twitter.com/B6kehEYy9I
— Just Keith / YouTube.com/AtTheMicWithKeith (@KeithMalinak) April 14, 2024

Tiger Tree

🫱🏿‍🫲🏻

Woods pic.twitter.com/qdH9x2yoKF
— randrew (@DanFlashes99) April 14, 2024

a lot of people are making fun of this but it took that tree a lot of courage to walk up to his hero tiger woods and shake his hand pic.twitter.com/GlQPVbZ1E9
— jake fields (@jake_fields) April 14, 2024

i don’t know whether to laugh or cry at tiger and verne’s last masters moment looking like tiger emotionally shaking hands with a tree https://t.co/0ukDaSd89y
— Brian Floyd (@BrianMFloyd) April 14, 2024

Tiger Woods just finished his 100th round at the Masters.

Here he is shaking hands with a tree who was there for all 100 rounds. pic.twitter.com/Ozr2C3m9cK
— WTF Stats (@WTFstats) April 14, 2024

Tiger’s favorite tree waving goodbye https://t.co/GAT4iCpLcN
— Mardy Fish (@MardyFish) April 14, 2024

The image provided a lighthearted conclusion to Woods' disappointing weekend at the Masters, having shot 16-over to record his highest 72-hole score ever at the tournament.

Woods, still dealing with the effects of numerous surgeries, finished last among those who made the cut.