Tag: albatross

Watch: Nick Hardy hoops an albatross at 2024 Butterfield Bermuda Championship

The only thing better than an albatross is hooping an albatross.

The only thing better than an albatross is hooping an albatross.

You gotta see this video.

Nick Hardy sized up his second shot on the par-5 17th just perfect during Friday’s second round of the 2024 Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

“Dangerous front-right hole location,” Johnson Wagner said on the Golf Channel telecast.

No problem for Hardy, who took any danger out of the shot by dunking his ball with a 7-iron from 180 yards.

The PGA Tour reports that it’s the first albatross in tournament history and the fifth on Tour this season.

Eric Axley makes an albatross in Monday qualifying to earn spot in Furyk & Friends

Axley holed out from the fairway on the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley.

Eric Axley, among the 50 golfers entered in the Monday qualifier for the PGA Tour Champions event this week, is moving into the main field after one of golf’s rarest shots.

He’s one of three moving on after he shot a 66 to finish a shot behind Kris Blanks. Garrett Willis shot 67 to be the third golfer to get into the field at the 2024 Constellation Furyk & Friends at Timuquana Country Club in Jacksonville, Florida.

Axley, though, has the best story to tell. He was 3 under with just two holes left and on the outside looking in before he made some magic happen, holing out from the fairway for a 2 on the par-5 17th hole, a 499-yard par 5 on the Dye’s Valley course at TPC Sawgrass.

That’s right, he made an albatross to jump a handful of golfers and secure a spot this week.

Having just turned 50 in April, Axley has only played in four senior circuit events this summer. He has one PGA Tour victory, the 2006 Valero Texas Open, making him one of 16 left-handers to win on the PGA Tour. He also has two Korn Ferry Tour wins.

The odds of making what’s also known as a double eagle are about 6-million-to-1 for the average golfer and about a million-to-one for a professional.

Axley competed in Q School last November but came up short in his bid for full status on the Champions tour in 2024.

Jeff Maggert still has the one and only albatross at No. 13 at the Masters

Maggert estimates that “less than 100 people” witnessed the shot.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Jeff Maggert finished above par in every round at the 1994 Masters.

He carded the day’s high score (82) on Saturday, and was 19 over as he walked toward Sunday’s 13th hole.

“I remember it well,” said Maggert, 30 years after the achievement. “I had 222 yards to the pin and thought, ‘I’m not playing this safe. I’m going right at it with a 3-iron.’”

Then, magic happened.

With the flag tucked in its Sunday traditional front-ride corner, Maggert’s ball hopped once, bounced twice, hit the pin and vanished.

“I looked at my caddie (Brian Sullivan) and said, ‘Sully, holy cow, that went in,’” Maggert recalled.

As the first pairing off on Sunday, Maggert estimates that “less than 100 people” witnessed the shot.

There’s no video of the hole-out, but one onlooker was John Cherwa, a reporter with the Los Angeles Times, who wrote: “Maggert stared in disbelief for a second, then raised his arms. He gave his caddie, Brian Sullivan, a high-five and strode up the fairway to several standing ovations from the early arriving crowd.”

Fifty-seven Masters Tournaments were played prior to 1994, and 30 have been conducted since. No one has duplicated Maggert’s albatross on No. 13.
Following the tournament, media members peppered Maggert about what he planned to do with the ball.

“I’ll probably put it on a shelf, so I can keep the kids and dog from it. Maybe it’ll last a while,” he said.

It didn’t.

Maggert was awarded a crystal bowl for the accomplishment and placed the ball inside. Eventually, the pellet was removed.

“You know, when you have kids,” said Maggert, before pausing. “It was probably hacked into the woods.”

In all, only four double-eagles have been struck at the Masters — one at each par 5:

  • No. 2: Louis Oosthuizen, 2012, final round (4-iron, 253 yards)
  • No. 8: Bruce Devlin, 1967, first round (4-wood, 248 yards)
  • No. 13: Jeff Maggert, 1994, final round (3-iron, 222 yards)
  • No. 15: Gene Sarazen, 1935, final round (4-wood, 235 yards)

“It’s a little surprising that no one else has done it,” Maggert said of his shot at No. 13. “The 13th is the easiest par 5 out there.”

Seven years after his shot at Augusta National, Maggert delivered a second miracle — this time at the 2001 British Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes.

He’s the only player to have two double-eagles at a major championship.

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Custom Masters eclipse solar glasses handed out Monday at Augusta National

The spectacles are made of green paper with a Masters Tournament logo on each side.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — With the total eclipse set for Monday afternoon, Masters patrons were handed customized solar glasses upon entry.

The spectacles are made of green paper with a Masters Tournament logo on each side.

“What a cool surprise,” said Grant Thomas, who entered the gates at 7:08 a.m. local time. “We get to experience a solar eclipse and Augusta on the same day. Not bad.”

Augusta National released a statement saying the eclipse is expected to hit the course from 1:45 p.m. to around 4:20 p.m.

“During the eclipse, please do not look at the sun without appropriate solar glasses,” the statement read. “We ask that you exercise caution and be aware of your surroundings while wearing the glasses.”

The club also warned its practice round patrons to not point cameras at the sun.

“Optics can magnify the intensity of sunlight, and this can cause damage to your equipment,” according to the statement.

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PGA Tour pros hit the ugliest – and prettiest – shots you’ll see Sunday at 2024 Valspar Championship

Sunday’s final round at the Valspar saw a pair of pros do the unthinkable, both good and bad.

Within 30 minutes during the final round at the 2024 Valspar Championship a pair of PGA Tour players hit the best and worst shots you’ll see from professionals.

First up was Robby Shelton.

Coming off his best season as a professional in 2023, the 28-year-old has been slow to start in 2024 and entered the week off a pair of missed cuts. He played his way to the weekend at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Florida, and on Sunday hit a shot he won’t soon forget. Shelton made an albatross on the par-5 14th hole after he sunk his approach from 258 yards out in the fairway.

This thing was a laser-guided missile destined to find the hole.

And then there was Peter Malnati, who has made headlines in recent weeks for his thoughts on the future of the PGA Tour and his touching reason for why he uses a yellow golf ball. In contention for his second win on Tour and first since 2015, Malnati found the fairway and pulled a hybrid from the bag for his second shot on the par-5 5th hole. With 291 yards to the cup, Malnati hit one of the uglier non-shanks you’ll see from a pro. You can’t quite call it a top because the ball somehow still went 172 yards, but he sure didn’t catch it clean.

Even the broadcasters were confused about what they had just seen.

Professional golfers: sometimes they do the unthinkable and other times they’re just like us amateurs.

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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: Shane Lowry makes albatross at the 2024 Farmers Insurance Open

What a shot from the Irishman!

Thanks to three bogeys over his first four holes Saturday, Shane Lowry was 2 over through five holes during the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines’ South Course in San Diego, California.

However, his round turned around quickly after a perfect 303-yard drive on the par-5 sixth.

Lowry, with a fairway metal in hand, went for the green in two from 256 yards out.

His ball just cleared the front-left greenside bunker, took a few hops, hit off the flagstick and went in for an albatross!

The mega-bird vaulted him from 2 under for the tournament to 5 under, tied for 31st. It’s the second double eagle on Tour this season (Jake Knapp/Round 2/No. 11/Nicklaus Tournament Course/the American Express).

Farmers: Photos

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These D-III college teammates made albatross on the same hole on the same day

“I just wanted a chance for an eagle putt because I’ve never had one.”

David Fern was sure there had been a mistake.

The women’s golf coach at Division III Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington, couldn’t believe what he saw on the live scoring last Monday. On the 490-yard par-5 seventh hole at Wine Valley Golf Club, sophomore Gabby Martinez had a 2 on the scorecard. An albatross.

Only 30 minutes later, senior Brianna McNelly also had a 2 pop up on the same hole.

“I was really hoping someone didn’t put a 2 when they meant to put a 5,” Fern told Golfweek. “I started hearing more and more, and that’s when I believed it was real.”

Fern was with Whitworth’s B team, which was on the other side of the course, before he hopped in his cart and drove to the other side to find out whether it was true.

And it was.

Martinez and McNelly each made an albatross during the final round of the Confluence Classic in Walla Walla, Washington. The pair were three groups apart, with Martinez holing her 6-iron from 192 yards out for the first 2. McNelly followed, dunking a 7-wood from 202 yards. 

“It was one of the purest shots I’ve ever hit,” McNelly said. “I just wanted a chance for an eagle putt because I’ve never had one. I think I might be the only person to have an albatross but not an eagle.”

Gabby Martinez (right) and Brianna McNelly each made albatross last week at the Confluence Classic. (Photo provided)

The Double Eagle Club says the chances of an albatross are 6 million-to-1. For comparison, the chances of making a hole-in-one are 12,500-to-1, per the National Hole-in-One Registry.

Whitworth assistant Dave Hall was with Martinez when she lined up her approach into the par 5. They picked a line over the bunker. Martinez smashed her 7-wood and asked her coach, “right there?” Hall responded, “Yep, right there.”

Safe to say, they had the right line.

“I mean, it is unbelievable,” Fern said. “I don’t think that has happened in the history of college golf, two teammates making albatross at the same tournament on the same hole and the same day. It’s incredible.”

Last year in a qualifying round, Holy Cross teammates Christian Emmerich and Owen Egan both made albatross playing in the same group. However, it wasn’t in a tournament round.

The albatrosses helped Whitworth finish runner-up to defending national champion George Fox. McNelly finished tied for seventh while Martinez placed T-21.

And for McNelly and Martinez, they’ll have a story to brag about the rest of their lives.

Charley Hoffman makes an albatross at 2023 Wyndham Championship

It’s a feat more rare than a hole-in-one.

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It’s a feat more rare than a hole-in-one.

Charley Hoffman made an albatross on the par-5 15th hole Sunday during the final round of the 2023 Wyndham Championship.

After a 343-yard drive, Hoffman holed out his second shot from 198 yards over water to a back-right pin at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Hoffman was even par on his round after a bogey, a double bogey and three birdies. The double-circled 2 got him to 3 under and into a tie for 11th. The four-time winner on Tour has a season-best finish of T-14 at the WM Phoenix Open this season.

It’s his first albatross and the fourth on the PGA Tour this season.

  • Charley Hoffman, Wyndham Championship
  • Dylan Wu, Rocket Mortgage Classic
  • Kevin Tway, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
  • Xander Schauffele, The American Express

There have been 35 holes-in-ones season.

PHOTOS: Charley Hoffman through the years

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This teenager aced a 403-yard par 4 during a PGA Tour Monday qualifier

Bet he couldn’t do that again.

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It’s not every day you see golfers making holes-in-one at professional events. Even that’s difficult for the best players in the world.

It’s almost a guarantee you’ll never see them make one on a par 4.

Don’t tell Aldrich Potgieter that.

The teenager from South Africa who recently turned pro aced a par 4 on the 403-yard 17th hole during a Monday qualifier for the PGA Tour’s 2023 John Deere Classic at Pinnacle Country Club in Milan, Illinois. He didn’t see the ball go into the hole and had no idea it was in until his caddie in the fairway ahead of him started freaking out.

In the history of the PGA Tour, there has only been one ace recorded on a par 4: Andrew McGee at the 2001 Phoenix Open.

Potgieter, 18,  was 5 under in his final five holes on the back nine (his first side) and signed for a 6-under 66— but he missed getting into the field by one shot.

He made his professional debut two weeks ago at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Compliance Solutions Championship in Norman, Oklahoma, then played last week at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, where he missed the cut. He also made starts at the Masters and U.S. Open this year, making the cut at Los Angeles Country Club and finishing 64th.

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