T.J.'s Take: A picture worth more than a thousand words

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K. Auclair/Getty Images

Henrik Stenson stripped down to his boxers to play a shot out of the water on Thursday and it became a hit worldwide.

DORAL, Fla. -- I never, ever, in a million years, imagined I could be so proud of my little brother for taking a picture of a practically nude man.

I guess that's why there's the adage, "never say never," and also the one, "not that there's anything wrong with that!"

Because that's precisely what happened on Thursday afternoon during the first round of the World Golf Championships-CA Championship at Doral.

My little bro, 25-year-old Kyle, who does a heck of a job taking pictures week in and week out on the PGA TOUR, came across a once-in-a-lifetime shot.

With the rest of the world's best golf photographers trailing Tiger Woods, Kyle decided he was going to follow other players instead, so not to get the same shot. Little did he know this particular sequence of images would be plastered on newspapers, websites and television shows all over the country the next day.

It all happened thanks to Sweden's Henrik Stenson, who, after two rounds at Doral, is 2 under and 11 shots off the lead. After hitting his tee shot along the water's edge at the third hole on Thursday, the lanky Swede went where no man on TOUR has gone before.

Without a rain-suit to shield him from the muddy water that was sure to splash all over his free clothes, Stenson decided it would be a good idea to strip down to the undies, answering the question plenty of women wanted to know: boxers or briefs?

As it turns out, both... Boxer-briefs.

"I was only wearing two things when I hit the shot, my jocks and my golf glove -- that is the only thing that will appear in the picture aside from the golf club -- just the way God created me," he said Thursday. "Shirt, trousers, socks, shoes, hat, the lot was off."

In case you were wondering, Stenson bogeyed the hole -- the most graphic bogey in the history of the game.

On Friday, after seeing my brother's shots all over the place -- it even took the top spot on Sportscenter's "Not Top 10 Plays" segment -- I caught up with Kyle and Stenson to see how they felt a day after one of the funniest professional golf moments ever caught on camera.

Let's start with the Instant Message interview my suddenly famous brother was kind enough to grant me:

T.J.: So what was going through your head when Stenson started taking his clothes off yesterday and you were the only photographer out there?

Kyle: I was debating even taking the picture at first. I didn't enjoy it if that's what you're asking. Seriously though, it was pretty exciting. I didn't see any other photographers and could tell it was going to be a special moment. That stuff never happens.

T.J: Were dollar signs flashing before your eyes, thinking about how many months of rent you could pay for the two of us back home in Rhode Island?

Kyle: I was thinking maybe we could buy our house instead of renting rooms from Tous (our roommate). You know, buy the house we rent and then I could kick you and Tous out.

T.J.: Well played, punk. Now tell me a little about Stenson. Clearly he has a few screws loose to be taking his clothes off in public. But did he say anything to you before or after the photos were taken? You know, like, "I'll pay you anything not to sell those!"

Kyle: He was like, "C'mon man. Seriously?"

Before I took the photos we were all laughing. Ryuji Imada and Ben Curtis -- Henrik's playing partners -- were getting a kick out of it and giving me thumbs up. When we walked to the next tee we had another laugh and Stenson mentioned something about sharing some revenue with him... I never got his info... Oops!

T.J.: Next thing you know, you walk into the media center and people are talking more about you and the pictures than Tiger Woods. I was walking over to give you a brotherly punch in the arm, but then everyone started flocking to you like God's gift to photography and I was afraid I'd get tackled. Obviously, it wasn't you I was afraid of. But seriously, how did it feel to get all that attention?

Kyle: It felt great. It was definitely overwhelming at first. I wasn't expecting that reaction. Everyone wanted to see it and I hadn't edited anything yet so I was a little rattled by the whole situation but it was awesome... And you're lucky you didn't punch me in the arm because even with everyone around I still would have laid you out.

T.J.: Easy, killa. So, would you say taking pictures of a nearly full-blown nude man on a golf course is the highlight of your photography career so far? Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course.

Kyle: Indecent "exposures," I guess, right, T? I was really lucky. Right place, right time. Yeah, it's a highlight for me for a lot of different reasons. It was a great player -- a European player, which probably means more press worldwide -- at a great event that gets world attention anyway.

T.J.: Thanks, Ky. And well done... I guess.

As for Stenson, I was able to track him down after the second round. Just as we were starting the interview, England's Paul Casey walked by and said to no one in particular, "Oh look! It's Henrik and he's not naked!"

So that answered question No. 1... Yes, Stenson is getting some abuse from his fellow pros.

"Someone said they wouldn't do it for a million bucks," Stenson said, still laughing at himself. "Well, they can just ship that million over then... I wasn't out there planning, 'Hey, let's get naked today.' It was just so muddy in there and I would have been covered from head to toe."

It wasn't just players giving Stenson a hard time either.

"I had a couple of funny text messages from friends in England," he explained. "They said they woke up to the news at breakfast and it was me playing golf in my boxers all over it. They probably choked."

Anything you want to relay to Kyle, Henrik? After all, if it wasn't for him the whole situation would have been like the tree that fell in the woods -- if no one was there to hear it fall, did it really make a sound?

"Kyle obviously got a reward for following our group," Stenson admitted. "I guess it was a one-in-a-million shot for him and I think hopefully he makes a good buck out of it. I'm sure he'll let me get the pictures off him [for free] though."

I'm not so sure, Henrik. Kyle has turned into quite the little businessman over the last 24 hours.