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Early in his round Tuesday the conversation 7-year-old Austin Snedeker had with his dad, PGA Tour pro Brandt Snedeker, came around to the possibility of making a hole-in-one.
Austin was hitting the ball particularly well off the tee and wondered if he could make a hole-in-one.
“I was talking about a hole-in-one actually while on my second hole,” Austin said. “I hit the ball really good on my second hole and I was like, it’d be really cool if I hit a hole-in-one.”
Before the round ended Austin got his wish. He continued to strike the ball well and ended up acing the No. 9 hole at The Little Course at Conner Lane in Franklin, Tennessee.
Austin has been playing seriously for about a year. He had posted one of his best rounds earlier in the day and finished fourth in his age group in a Sneds Tour Tournament at The Little Course with Brandt caddying for him.
“He played well in that tournament and we went and played another nine in the afternoon because he was so jacked up,” Brandt said.
Even for someone playing well, the odds are stacked against a golfer Austin’s age of sinking a hole-in-one. According to the National Hole-In-One Registry the average golfer makes one hole-in-one every 24 years of playing and the average age group of a player who makes the most holes-in-one is 50-59 (25%).
That’s why Brandt was surprised as he watched his son’s 60-yard tee shot, which he hit with a pitching wedge, leave the tee and sail directly into the hole.
“He hit the ball perfect and I was thinking it’s going to be close,” Brandt said. “Then sure enough, it flew right in. We were all jumping around going crazy. It was great.”
Brandt has made seven holes-in-one and was 12 when he made his first.
“I’ve not made one since Austin was born so he’s got me beat right now,” said Brandt, who is 20th on the PGA Tour career money leaders list with $38,716,559.