A McKinleyville man is taking home a 2022 Kia Seltos after sinking a 94-foot, full-court putt in Lumberjack Arena on Saturday during the Cal Poly Humboldt Men’s Basketball game against Cal State East Bay.
William Paddock told the Outpost that he was hoping to entertain the crowd that night.
“I just wanted to put on a good show,” Paddock said. “They always say in golf: ‘Don’t leave a birdie putt short.’ So I made sure to have a big follow through and hoped to hit the board, at least.”
After hyping up the crowd, Paddock fired the golf ball across the hardwood. The crowd exploded as the ball slammed into the putting backboard, jumped into the air and settled into the narrow hole.
Cal Poly Humboldt Athletics Department employee Haley Miller said that this was the first time the university’s basketball team hosted the putting promotion.
“We used to run the same promotion at football games, but to my knowledge, there was never a winner,” Miller said.
Cal Poly Humboldt promotional partner Harper Motors will be providing the SUV, which Paddock said he intends to keep.