Tag: ace

Rickie Fowler makes hole-in-one with star-studded group at one of the most exclusive golf clubs in the country

Justin Thomas had the perfect reaction to his buddy making an ace.

Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas were known for their wild spring break golf trips at Bakers Bay that featured the likes of Jordan Spieth and Smylie Kaufman in their younger years. You know, when Snapchat was all the rage back in 2017.

The pair went on another golf trip this week, but it wasn’t to a resort course in paradise. Fowler and Thomas were with Eli Manning, Theo Epstein and a few others at the exclusive Pine Valley Golf Club in Pine Hill, New Jersey, which ranks as Golfweek’s Best No. 1 classic course in the country and No. 1 private course in the state.

According to a signed pin flag by the players in the group, Fowler aced the par-3 third hole from 182 yards out with a 7-iron, and the hole-in-one was captured on video and shared on social media on Thursday morning.

Rickie and JT are no strangers to aces, they’re professional golfers after all. But you just have to love the reaction on the tee box, jumping and screaming like a couple of amateurs at the local muni. Pro golfers, sometimes they’re just like us.

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All the holes-in-one at Augusta National for the Masters

The 16th has had the most aces over the years.

In the history of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National, there have been 34 holes-in-one, the most recent coming in the 2022 edition of the event.

The fourth has just one ace ever.

The sixth has had six holes-in-one.

The most famous par 3 is the 12th, known as Golden Bell, and there have been just three aces there.

The 16th hole has recorded the most aces of any hole at Augusta National with 24.

Below is a list of all the aces.

In tournament history, five aces were made by amateurs, one was made by a golfer using a mashie niblick and one was made by a golfer using a spade mashie. (Bonus points if you know what those two clubs look like).

This legally blind golfer made a hole-in-one a day after his 85th birthday

“It was a 7-iron, and I hit it flush.”

Vincent Costa doesn’t hesitate to call his recent hole-in-one a case of blind luck. And for good reason.

Legally blind for more than 20 years, Costa is a regular on the links at Vasari Country Club in Bonita Springs, Florida, where he and his wife Joan are members. On Monday, one day after celebrating his 85th birthday on Easter, Costa played a round alongside regular partner Michael O’Keefe and two first-timers in their foursome.

“Michael’s a friend so at the beginning of the round he tells these two guys, by the way, my partner’s legally blind,” Costa said. “And then I par the first two holes so they’re probably wondering if this was an April’s Fools joke.”

But that was just a warm-up for what Costa did on No. 16, acing the par-3 hole from 120 yards out.

“It was a 7-iron and I hit it flush,” he said. “Naturally I didn’t know where it was going because I never know where the ball is traveling. But then everyone had their arms up like I had just won the tournament. It was really exciting.”

The Costas, who split their time between Bonita Springs and Long Branch, New Jersey, have lived at Vasari since 2004. The couple will celebrate their 63rd wedding anniversary in May.

Vincent, who is legally blind in his right eye and has peripheral vision in his left, said he’s been playing golf for 60 years and never considered quitting the game, even as his vision deteriorated.

“It’s the only thing somebody like me could play in sports because I can’t see a moving ball,” he said. “I have good friends and a good family that are willing to golf with me and drive me around. They know exactly where the ball goes so all I have to do is get out of the cart and there’s the ball.

“So you need good friends, good family and a good attitude as well.”

Joan said her husband is an inspiration to others, both inside and outside of their family.

“I know people in Vince’s situation very often think their life is over,” she said. “His doctor has told us that once this happens, people generally just throw in the towel. But people are always amazed at the things he does.

“Everybody here they just revere him because of his attitude and how he’s gone on to live his life.”

This is the second hole-in-one for Costa since he’s been legally blind. The first came in 2006 at Forsgate Country Club in Monroe Township, N.J.

“I figured that would be the only one,” he said. “They called it blind luck at that time and I guess this one, it must be the same thing.”

Watch: The always exciting Jordan Spieth made an ace at the Valero Texas Open

What a crowd reaction.

To say it was a rough day for Jordan Spieth may be an understatement.

The winner of the 2021 Valero Texas Open was 4 over when he stepped on the 15th tee, not a welcome sign after consecutive missed cuts in an event you’d like to see some signs of life heading into the Masters.

Well, one shot can certainly turn a round around. And Spieth is plenty capable of hitting that one shot.

On the par-3 16th hole at TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course, Spieth pulled a 7-iron from 199 yards. He smashed it and started walking to the green after a solid swing. The ball hopped a couple times and never left the flag.

Boom. An ace.

What a crowd reaction.

For Spieth, it’s the fourth ace of his Tour career and first since the 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational. He followed with a birdie on the 17th hole and is still very much alive to make the weekend.

After learning of friend’s death, PGA Tour pro made an ace at Houston Open: ‘Maybe he was looking down’

Chan Kim will never forget Friday’s round.

HOUSTON — Chan Kim will never forget his round Friday at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open.

Thursday night, Kim learned one of his longtime friends from high school died.

“We were on the same golf team,” Kim said. “Both him and his brother I’ve known for a while. We actually just played some golf when I was home before Mexico. And we normally game a lot, so I’m a big Call of Duty fan, so we literally played the week of the Players.

“Yeah, it was just kind of sudden, didn’t really get any notice of it until last night. Yeah, like I said, today was kind of a special round. Regardless of how it went, it was nice to play for something a little bit more than just myself.”

Kim got off to an excellent start. He was 2 under thru 8 holes Friday morning when he stepped to the tee of the par-3 ninth at Memorial Park Golf Course and pulled a wedge from 157 yards. One hop later, the ball disappeared. It was Kim’s first ace on Tour.

“I just would have thought that maybe he was looking down, you know, just trying to give me a miracle,” Kim said. “Yeah, definitely needed all of it. I’m happy of the result today, for sure.”

The hole-in-one helped Kim turn in a 4-under 31. He shot 3 under on Friday and will make the weekend, sitting at 2 under for the tournament.

The ace was also special because of one Kim, a Tour rookie, nearly had earlier this season.

“I feel like obviously getting a hole-in-one is very, very lucky, but I feel like the Tour kind of owed me one because I flew one in on 11 at Sony and it popped out 60 feet and ended up three-putting for bogey,” Kim said. “I felt like I was owed one, for sure.”

Danielle Kang makes her 17th (!) ace at LPGA stop in Palos Verdes

“It’s sometimes luck,” said Kang, “but I absolutely pured it.”

Danielle Kang notched the 17th ace of her life during the opening round of the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship on Thursday.

“It’s sometimes luck,” said Kang, “but I absolutely pured it.”

Kang struck a 5-iron exactly as she planned on the par-3 11th hole (her second of the day) from 174 yards. She wanted to land the ball short and let it run up to the hole.

“I just hit my 5-iron exactly where I wanted to hit it and we all just kind of stared it down, and Andrea (Lee) just reacted so cute,” said Kang. “She was just like, ‘Oh, my God, oh, my God.’ She screamed.”

Kang, who opened with a 71 at Palos Verdes Golf Club in California, said 17 is her lucky number.

“Actually, I’ve had four hole-in-ones on the 17th day,” she said. “I’ve had five holes-in-one on the 17th hole. … I’ve had three holes-in-one in on the 17th hole with the 17 number ball.”

The list goes on: Kang was 17 years old when she won her first U.S. Women’s Amateur title on the 17th hole at Charlotee Country Club. She won her first major title in 2017. She played in her first Solheim in 2017, too.

“Yeah, just there is so much that has happened at 17, that it’s just been my lucky number,” she said.

“And then I’ve been waiting for my 17th hole-in-one for a while.”

Marquette’s Max Lyons makes hole-in-one on par 4, first ace of college career

There’s never a bad time to make an ace, especially when it’s an albatross.

There’s never a bad time to make an ace.

On a par 4, however? It’s almost unheard of. Almost.

Max Lyons, a junior on the Marquette men’s golf team, made a shot he will never forget Monday during the first round of the 2024 The Johnnie-O at Sea Island. Lyons made a hole-in-one on the par-4 10th hole from 324 yards out at Sea Island’s Plantation Course. It’s the first 1 of his college career.

The albatross was part of a psycho scorecard Lyons, from Phoenix, had on Monday. In addition to the ace, he had five birdies, four bogeys and a double, signing for a 2-under 70 in the opening round in St. Simons Island, Georgia.

Lyons was T-10 after the opening round with the second 18 scheduled for Monday afternoon.

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Watch: Nick Dunlap makes ace on 7th hole during 2024 Cognizant Classic

What a shot.

Nick Dunlap has a flair for the dramatic.

Last year, he won the U.S. Amateur, becoming only the second golfer ever to win the U.S. Junior and Amateur, joining Tiger Woods. In January, he became the first amateur in 33 years to win on the PGA Tour, taking the American Express title.

On Friday, he added another bullet point to his resume: first ace as a PGA Tour member.

Dunlap has struggled since turning pro, but he seems to have found something this week during the 2024 Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches. On the par-3 seventh hole, Dunlap hit a cut to a front right hole location, and his ball took one bounce before rolling out and finding the bottom of the cup.

The shot moved him to 8 under for the tournament, one shot off leaders Kevin Yu and Victor Perez, who each played in the morning wave.

For Dunlap, the ace helped put him in position to make his first cut since turning professional.

He finished last at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, an event with no cut and only 80 players in the field. Then he missed the cut at the 70-man Genesis Invitational.

Now, he’s looking for his first win as a professional, and he has an ace in his pocket.

Hideki Matsuyama makes first PGA Tour hole-in-one at 2024 Farmers Insurance Open

After he made the ace, Matsuyama threw his ball into the gallery to a lucky fan.

SAN DIEGO — Hideki Matsuyama has accomplished a lot in his golf career.

The 31-year-old from Japan reached No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking before he turned professional and has since gone on to win eight times on both the PGA Tour and Japan Golf Tour. In 2021 he became the first-ever Japanese player to win a men’s major at the Masters. He’s also represented the International Team at the Presidents Cup five times.

During Thursday’s second round of the 2024 Farmers Insurance Open, Matsuyama crossed a major feat off his PGA Tour to-do list: make a hole-in-one. Matsuyama aced the par-3 8th hole on the South Course Torrey Pines for his first-ever hole-in-one on the PGA Tour in his 247th start.

It’s the 26th hole-in-one in the event’s history – each has come at Torrey Pines – and first at No. 8 on the South Course since Richy Werenski in the final round in 2020.

Making his third start of the season this week, Matsuyama has made the cut in his first two events at The Sentry (58) and Sony Open in Hawaii (T-30).

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Arizona golfer defies the odds, makes two holes-in-one in same round

The National Hole-in-One Registry says the odds of making two aces in one round are 67 million-to-1.

The National Hole-in-One Registry has determined that the odds of making two aces in one round are 67 million-to-1.

Cliff Romme just defied those odds.

Playing Orange Tree Golf Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona, the 77-year-old had two holes-in-one in a four-hole stretch during a recent round.

“It started off as probably my worst round in several weeks. I just could not keep the ball in the right spots,” Romme told Phoenix TV station Fox 10 about the inauspicious start to his day. But then came the par-3, 124-yard fourth hole.

After teeing off, he didn’t see it go in. In fact, as he approached the green, he had his wedge in his hands because he didn’t see his ball on the green. That’s when one of his playing partners told him “look in the hole,” Romme said. “And here it was.”

Three holes later was the par-3 seventh.

“I hit it again and the ball, it was another nice hit,” he said. “It felt good, it went up high, had a little bit of a draw, hit the green and rolled down the hill and right in hole.”

This time he kept his eyes, and ears, on the ball.

“Clunk. We could actually hear it,” he said. “I was a little numb. I couldn’t believe it.”

Orange Tree later gave him a red pin flag as a souvenir.

One of 40 in an area golf group dubbed “The Bogey Boys”, Romme did admit that he bought a lottery ticket on his way home, just in case there still some luck left in his day, but he struck out with that purchase.

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