The men’s basketball team may have come up short in the second half Saturday night, but one student walked away a winner in a second chance $500 half-court putt. 

Malachi Baird, a sophomore graphic design major from Marshall, came to the ACU basketball game to see his friend sing the national anthem that night. However, he arrived too late to see—or hear—her perform. 

Despite that Baird’s timing was just perfect in time to run into a member of the marketing team and be asked to go be a part of the halftime contest.

“When you have a chance to be epic, go be epic,” Baird said.

With two tries to make the putt, his first shot from half-court fell just inches short. His second, taken about six feet farther back, was perfect as it slowly rolled straight into the hole, sending the crowd into a roar of excitement.

“At first, I saw him walk up to swing, and I was like, ‘No way,'” said Margaret Christine, a fan in attendance. “After he made it, the whole crowd went insane. It was surreal.”

Having no experience of golf in his life, other than a few games of croquet, Baird said he approached the shot with a combination of some confidence but also realistic expectations as this was somewhat unfamiliar.

“I was sorta confident, but there was definitely some luck involved,” Baird said.

His reward for this outstanding accomplishment? A cool $500, which he immediately celebrated by calling his parents.

“I called my parents and said, ‘You won’t believe it, I just made 500 dollars,'” Baird said.

But rather than spending it on prototypical college things, Baird said he has bigger plans—he hopes to invest the money and turn it into something much larger. One million bucks.

Although the Wildcats couldn’t pull out a victory that night due to a second-half collapse, Baird’s improbable putt was a thrilling moment that won him a chance at treating himself.

“If that account ends up making me a million bucks you would know because I would buy me a nice steak dinner,” Baird said.