Tag: hole-in-one

Watch: Another reminder PGA Tour pros are better — Matt Fitzpatrick ‘wasted’ an ace at TPC Scottsdale on Tuesday

Matt Fitzpatrick has mixed feelings about the hole-in-one he made in a practice round prior to the WM Phoenix Open.

Not sure if “wasted” and “ace” should be in the same sentence unless you’re referring to your mental/physical state in the bar after a round with your buddies. Nevertheless, Matt Fitzpatrick has mixed feelings about the hole-in-one he made today in a practice round prior to the WM Phoenix Open.

Fitzpatrick is coming off a solid performance at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am where he finished T-6. The game obviously traveled to the desert along with the Englishman because he canned his tee shot on the par 3 12th.

“Bang, hole-in-one, wasted,” Fitzpatrick said with a less than enthusiastic tone.

Tee times, TV info | PGA Tour Live streaming on ESPN+

Oh, the problems that come with being a Tour professional — even aces only count when you’re in tournament play.

‘It was insanity:’ Memories still reverberate from those who saw Tiger Woods shake the earth with Phoenix Open hole-in-one

On Jan. 25, 1997, it was Tiger Woods pandemonium: “To turn around and see all this beer flying was crazy.”

Steve Stricker doesn’t mind being lost in the shadows, the low-key Wisconsinite never one to seek the limelight or the spotlight.

But this is ridiculous.

Twenty-five years ago, he made his first hole-in-one on the PGA Tour, a 6-iron from 170 yards on the usually rowdy 16th hole in Sunday’s final round of the Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. He even won a car with his stroke of perfection, an off-white Oldsmobile Aurora with a 1997 sticker price of $35,000.

Unfortunately, it was one of those “Bueller, Bueller” moments. Hardly anybody saw it, hardly anybody outside of Stricker’s family remembers it. Even a hunt through Google or any other search engine comes up blank.

All because of Tiger Woods.

The exploding superstar, who was just 21 but had already won three of his record-tying 82 PGA Tour victories heading into the 1997 Phoenix Open, made one of the most famous holes-in-one in game’s history the day before.

On the same hole.

In front of about 15,000 people – or about 14,980 more than saw Stricker’s ace.

The 15,000 was a large collection of the estimated 120,000 fans that attended the Greatest Show on Turf that Saturday, the wildest day of the wildest week in golf.

The numero uno – a soft 9-iron from 162 yards that bounced into the hole – was captured live on ESPN and has been replayed hundreds of thousands of times on YouTube and other social media outlets. And numerous stories featuring words of the shot and scene do come up on search engines.

“Well, that shows you who moves the needle,” Stricker said. “That’s Tiger for you. He raised the roof, but I won the car.”

It was Woods’ second ace as a professional – he made his first in his debut in the 1996 Greater Milwaukee Open. But you’d be hard pressed to find a hole-in-one that produced as loud an aftermath as Woods’ ace. Or as insane a reaction from the fans that day, who began to make it rain with empty and full beer cups.

“It was loud,” is all that the reserved Mike “Fluff” Cowen said this year on the silver anniversary of his former boss’ ace.

Loud? The sustained detonation reverberated across the golf course and rattled the windows in the clubhouse – more than 500 yards away.

Paired for the first time with Woods was Omar Uresti, who had the honor when the two arrived at the 16th tee. Today’s three-story coliseum enclosing the hole had yet to be built but a massive wall of people was waiting on the hill to the right of the hole that extended to the green and another mass of people were behind the hole.

A large beer tent was at the top of the hill.

Uresti then hit an 8-iron to less than three feet and the gallery exploded.

After the crowd fell silent following Uresti’s shot, and with the McDowell Mountains standing tall as a stunning backdrop, Woods swung away. The ball soared truly toward the flagstick, landed softly, took two bounces and disappeared.

“I think I broke Fluff’s hand,” Woods said years later about his high-five to his caddie. “I missed Omar or was it Rusty? Omar? I missed his. And then old school, back in the day, raised the roof, you know, that was the thing in the day.

“Then on top of that, just smelling and hearing the beer hit behind me on the tee box. To turn around and see all this beer flying was crazy.”

Another crazy thing happened shortly thereafter.

“The more eerie part was when we were playing 17 and 18, everybody didn’t really care,” Woods said. “They were walking in, because they had seen what they wanted to see and 16 was empty.”

[listicle id=778054269]

Florida woman makes two holes-in-one in the same round

Bickerton on her first ace(s): “I never thought I’d get it.”

Liz Bickerton is 74 and had never made a hole-in-one. It was on her bucket list, though.

“I never thought I’d get it,” she said.

On Nov. 17, Bickerton put two in that bucket.

The Eagle Creek Golf & Country Club member was playing at Cedar Hammock, and made two aces in the same round.

“I’m still shaking my head,” Bickerton said Monday. “I get all of these messages, and I’m like ‘Did that really happen?'”

Bickerton is from Canada, just outside Toronto, but has been at Eagle Creek for 18 years. She and her husband, Brian, began coming down to Southwest Florida to visit Bickerton’s parents, and then ended up getting their own place.

Bickerton and her group of Sue Anthony, Adele Reynolds and Cynthia Torokvei, all friends, started on the back nine. They were playing Cedar Hammock as part of a reciprocal since Eagle Creek has been undergoing a renovation, but is scheduled to reopen soon.

Bickerton had played Cedar Hammock maybe one other time, but not recently.  When the group got to No. 14, an 80-yard par 3 and their fifth hole of the day, Bickerton pulled out a 7-iron and looked at the green.

“I don’t hit a long ball, but I’m always straight,” she said. “This is kind of in my wheelhouse.”

Bickerton hit the ball and went onto the green and started rolling.

“Wait a minute. Watch it!” her playing partners said.

And it rolled into the cup.

“We all kind of jumped around,” she said, adding people in the townhouses nearby who were watching started applauding.

Bickerton called her husband, who was playing a round at Royal Palm, to let him know. At first, he didn’t believe her.

“You did not,” he said.

“I did too,” she said.

The group continued their round and came around to another par-3, the 88-yard No. 4. This one was over water. Bickerton already had taken the ball she used to make her first ace out of play, and wasn’t optimistic what was going to happen on this hole.

“I kind of kissed the ball goodbye because I figured it’d go in the water,” she said.

Bickerton pulled out her trusty 11-wood, though, and hit the shot. The ball got over the water and began rolling on the green.

“It can’t be, it can’t be,” her playing partners said.

Then it dropped in the hole.

She called her husband again to say she made another one.

“I know, you already told me,” he said.

“No, I had another one,” she said.

Her husband has had two.

“He’s mad because I caught him,” she said with a chuckle.

Bickerton said a few days later, one of her playing partners was catching a flight, and was sitting next to a man at the airport who mentioned that his group was playing behind this woman who had made two holes-in-one.

“That’s one of my best friends,” she told him.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Watch: Matthew Wolff back into Sunday contention with first PGA Tour ace at the Houston Open

On No. 9 at Memorial Park, the former Oklahoma State star executed an impressive shot.

HOUSTON — After a third straight sub-70 round on Saturday, Matthew Wolff said that “at the end of the day you’ve got to still execute the shots, and I feel good about my game and whatever that holds tomorrow.”

Through the first eight holes, that wasn’t the case, as he gave two strokes back and fell five behind playing partner Scottie Scheffler at the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open.

On No. 9, though, the former Oklahoma State star executed a shot.

Wolff selected a 9-iron on the 187-yard par-3 and hit it perfectly. The ball bounced before the hole and rolled in, marking his first ace on the PGA Tour at an opportune time. Although he still has plenty of work to do, he pulled to within three strokes of Scheffler heading into the back nine with this single shot.

The final round is currently on Golf Channel.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Newlywed Austin Ernst wins two-year lease on a Lamborghini for Monday pro-am ace at LPGA’s Pelican Women’s Championship

“It feels like it’s probably pretty fast.”

Monday pro-ams don’t often make headlines, but Austin Ernst certainly generated buzz with a timely ace before the LPGA’s Pelican Women’s Championship. When Ernst’s 8-iron from 147 yards on the par-3 12th at Pelican Golf Club found the bottom of the cup, she suddenly found herself behind the wheel of a bright green Lamborghini.

“It feels like it’s probably pretty fast,” said Ernst after sitting inside. “It will be exciting to take a little test drive.”

Ernst, 29, who was playing in the Raymond James Monday Pro-Am in Belleair, Florida, won a two-year lease on the flashy Italian car. She now has four career aces, including two in competition and a pair in pro-ams. This is the first time she has won anything for striking the perfect shot.

“I did see it go in,” said Ernst. “I hit it, and I hit it fairly off the toe, but it was right on line.”

Ernst, who married Jason Dods on Oct. 1, is a three-time winner on the LPGA. She won earlier this year at the LPGA Drive On event at Golden Ocala.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CUyAkWfvyev/

The former NCAA champ is one of 108 players teeing it up Nov. 11-14 in this week’s Pelican Women’s Championship. She’ll be joined in the field by World No. 1 Nelly Korda, No. 2-ranked Jin Young Ko and last year’s champion, Sei Young Kim (No. 4).

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Florida man makes hole-in-one on same hole in consecutive rounds

Raymond Brunelle used an 8-iron and then a pitching wedge to accomplish this amazing feat.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Raymond Brunelle knows how special a hole-in-one is in golf. He hadn’t had one in almost a half century.

He was thrilled when he aced the par-3 16th on the Heritage Course at The Club at Ibis on Oct. 2 with an 8-iron from 160 yards even though he wasn’t certain until he found the ball in the hole.

“It was kind of hazy that day,” the 63-year-old Brunelle said. “We saw it bounce toward the hole and disappear, but we weren’t absolutely sure it was in the hole or hidden behind the pin. When we got to the green, we didn’t see and, sure enough, it was in the hole.”

Four days later, Brunelle, who lives in West Palm Beach, returned to the 16th hole at the Heritage, knowing the golf gods are good at extracting their revenge.

“I just didn’t want to embarrass myself,” he said. “I was hoping just to make a par.”

Instead, using a pitching wedge from 128 yards, it was déjà vu all over again as the ball disappeared into the hole. And this time, they could celebrate on the tee.

“There was no question it went in the hole,” Brunelle said. “I had two hole-in-ones as a junior, but to make two in a row on the same hole … What are the odds of making two hole-in-ones in the same week, let alone consecutive rounds, with different clubs, different tees and different conditions.”

But the same result.

Raymond Brunelle
The scorecard for Raymond Brunelle showing his hole-in-one on the par-3 16th hole at the Heritage Course at The Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Oct. 2, 2021. Photo by Raymond Brunelle

The odds of the average golfer making a hole-in-one are 12,500-to-1 and it happens once every 3,500 rounds, according to the National Hole-in-One Registry. The odds of a player making two holes-in-one in the same round is 67-million-1.

Normally, making a pair of holes-in-one can be an expensive deal. The player traditionally is supposed to buy drinks for everyone in the clubhouse. At The Club at Ibis, members who make a hole-in-one are given a $50 credit to take care of their friends.

Brunelle has a new best friend – the 16th at Heritage. During his next round on the hole Wednesday, he hit it to 8 feet. No hat trick, but definitely not embarrassing.

“When I step on that tee, I feel like, “Yeah, I got this hole,’” he said.

[lawrence-related id=778164012,778163452,778165705]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Watch: Paige Spiranac makes hole-in-one, gets celebratory hug from Gary Player

Making an ace is cool, but to do it in front of Gary Player?!

Paige Spiranac made a hole-in-one. That’s cool in itself. But to do it in front of World Golf Hall of Famer Gary Player? Well, that’s just next level.

It happened on Monday at the 148-yard, 14th hole at Glen Arbor Golf Club in Bedford Hills, New York at a charity-golf event sponsored by Berenberg to raise money for Pancreatic cancer research. Player’s wife Vivienne succumbed to the disease earlier this year.

Spiranac, 28, is a former professional golfer and better known these days as a social media personality.

In her first tweet on her ace, she simply said, “Made a hole in one in front of Gary Player.”

She let that humble-brag sit there for four hours before flexing with the video proof.

In the video, Player is heard discussing his club choice with his caddie as the ball is in the air. Someone says, “Go in…GO IN!”

It did and it led to an eruption of cheers and the aforementioned hug from The Black Knight. As for Spiranac’s reaction: “Oh my God,” she said. “Did you get that?”

They did, Paige. That’s a keeper.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Pair of aces in Arkansas lifts Nasa Hataoka to fifth career LPGA title

Nasa Hataoka became just the fifth player in LPGA Tour history to make two aces in one tournament.

After a pair of aces in two days, Nasa Hataoka couldn’t have made it look easier to start the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.

It didn’t end that way though, as a shaky three-putt par on the last gave Hataoka the one-stroke cushion needed to collect her fifth career title. The powerfully petite Japanese player finished at 16-under 197 for the week at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Arkansas.

“It was really, really stressful, especially after the bogey,” said Hataoka of the dropped shot on the 13th that could’ve been much worse had her racing putt not hit the hole and popped up.

Minjee Lee put a solid stroke on a final birdie attempt that slid by the hole to finish tied with Eun-Hee Ji at 15 under. Ji got up and down from a greenside bunker behind the green using only her putter.

Danielle Kang and Yuka Saso both shot 65 to finish in a share of fourth. Saso carded two eagles on Sunday including a sensational approach shot into the 18th with a 5-wood that stopped 4 feet from the hole. After a month off from the tour, she was pleased with the week.

Kang, who debuted as a pro at Pinnacle, said she’s focused on finishing the season strong.

“I’m actually very proud of the work that I’ve done this week,” she said. “I left a lot out there, but I was mentally in a really great place.”

Arkansas stars Stacy Lewis and Maria Fassi played together on Sunday. Lewis’s 66 moved her into a share of sixth at 12 under. Fassi, who launched her foundation this week, struggled to a 73 in the final round and dropped to T-51.

“I played really solid,” said Lewis. “Just never really got the putter going any day. I mean, today I made five birdies and three of them were within about a foot and a half and one was a chip-in.”

India’s Aditi Ashok, who came within one shot of a medal at the Olympics, took a share of eighth.

“I feel like I did good,” Ashok said of the boost she received from Tokyo, “and that was a huge takeaway. I feel like I can actually play well out here, and not just struggle to make putts. I can finish well, like I did in my rookie year. I had a top 10; the second year I had a couple top 10s. After that it’s been a bit of a dry spell.”

Hataoka has now passed Hiromi Kobayashi for third-most victories by a Japanese player, trailing Ayako Okamoto (17) and Ai Miyazato (9).

LPGA Walmart NW Arkansas Championship
Nasa Hataoka poses after making a hole-in-one on the 11th hole during the first round of the LPGA NW Arkansas Championship at the Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Arkansas. Photo by Kyodo via AP Images

Hataoka’s ace on Friday came on No. 11 when she struck a 9-iron from 135 yards. Saturday’s hole-in-one came on the sixth hole from 175 yards with a 5-iron.

She became just the fifth player in LPGA Tour history to make two aces in one tournament – the first since Ayako Uehara at the 2016 CP Women’s Open – and is the fourth to do it in back-to-back rounds. Hataoka is also the fourth player to have at least two aces in two different seasons, joining Betsy King (2, 1979 and 2, 1990), Meg Mallon (2, 1999 and 2, 2001) and Charlotta Sorenstam (2, 2001 and 3, 2002).

For the aces, CME Group will donate $20,000 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

“I’m also happy that I got the hole-in-ones,” said Hataoka, “but on the other hand, I’m really, really happy to be able to help the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. That’s what makes my really happy.”

[listicle id=778058320]

Ohio golfer makes two holes-in-one in a single round

George Farris went 65 years without making an ace. Last week he made two in one round.

Retired lawyer and avid golfer George Farris believes divine intervention played a role in his landing two holes-in-one in the same round last Wednesday at Ohio Prestwick Country Club in Uniontown.

Farris, 74, was playing golf with his three friends, Paul Garcha, Don Pittman and Dan Pittman when he made the two aces.

The first came on par-3 ninth hole.

“Everybody knows I’ve never had a hole-in-one and I’ve probably accepted that fact at my age,” Farris said during a recent phone conversation.

His friends could not believe the accomplishment had evaded him either.

“I’ve seen a few but it definitely was the most meaningful because of him, his age and he plays golf so much and we were all shocked,” Dan Pittman, 48, said. “Everyone who knows him who plays [thinks] how can this guy not have a hole-in-one?”

Then it happened.

“And we went crazy and these guys celebrated as much as I did,” Farris said. “They were as excited as I was because I got one.”

A sense of relief

That isn’t an exaggeration. Garcha remembered his initial reaction.

“Looking at him relieved because between myself and Dan (Pittman) we always said I’d rather see George get one before we get one and it was clear as can be and it was like wow! And, yup, we lost it,” he said.

Pittman remembered what it meant to Farris.

“George just threw his arms up in the air and dropped his club,” he said. “I ran up to him and gave him a big bear hug and he got a little choked up. At point the day was perfect.”

However, Farris wasn’t done just yet.  The group joked on the 14th hole, also a par-3, that it would be nice to see another ace. They didn’t know they’d get their wish two holes later on the 16th.

“Then whammo!” Garcha said. “That was right at it.  Dribble.  Bounce. And he was shocked and so was I.”

[listicle id=778108835]

A surreal feeling

Pittman called it surreal

“It’s the first time I probably experienced something that I’m like there’s no way this is happening. There’s no way. It’s got to be a dream, you know?” he said. “We were in awe … It’s almost indescribable. The odds of that to happen.”

Farris said he may have just had the fortune of hitting his two best shots in his life.

“I hit another good shot and we saw it go into the hole and we just went crazy,” Farris said. “It’s not like I’m a scratch golfer or I have a beautiful swing because I don’t and I’m not, but that day I had two perfect swings and the balls were hit perfectly and we were totally amazed.”

Stats geeks might be amazed also. The odds of a pro golfer making a hole-in-one, according to the National Hole in One Registry, are 3,000-to-1. For an average golfer multiply that by four. Twice in a round? Grab the supercomputer and have at it. The odds are reportedly 167 million to 1.

Bob Gardenier, the golf pro at Prestwick the past four years, said it’s the first time it’s happened since he’s been at the club.

It’s also so rare that Cobra and Titleist, the manufacturers of the clubs and balls he used, respectively, were contacted. Additionally, several golf publications were notified.

A connection to his daughter

After the feat, Farris called his wife, who was attending to a family issue in Missouri.  She reminded him of the significance of the numbers nine and 16.

“The next day I was talking to my wife, we were talking about it and she said ‘You know, nine and 16 is Darah’s birthday,’” Farris said. “Darah is my daughter who died in 2012 from cancer [at age 24] and just that morning I was at the cemetery. People are calling it divine intervention. It was really pretty amazing.”

Farris has golfed since 1954, he said.

“Every year for the past 10 years I’ve had at least 100 rounds,” he said. “I play in the cold weather. I play when the sun is out and it’s at least 40 degrees.”

Darah, whose gravesite he visits two or three times per week, knew how much her father, an avid University of Akron basketball fan, loved to play golf.

“Everyone knows,” he said. “It’s become a joke.”

It’s also the kind of individual athletic feat – much like a 300 in bowling – that others like to revel. While his friends were there to help him celebrate and mark the occasion, his wife shared the news with his father-in-law, whose memory is fading. He enjoyed playing the game, also.

“He still talks about golf, asks about my scores,” Farris said, “so [they] just got the biggest kick out of it because her father never had a hole-in-one. When she told her father, he was just tickled pink.”

Making up for lost time

For Farris, it’s as if time is giving him a mulligan for those first 65 years without accomplishing the game’s ultimate feat.

Unfortunately, however, unlike the pros, prize money isn’t in the cards. There’s a gesture made among the membership at Prestwick. It was enough for him to enjoy it with friends after that round, doing what most friends in such a situation would do.

“We sat down and drank the rest of the evening,” Farris said. “I bought drinks for everybody and I let everybody drink as much as they wanted to drink. We were all celebrating.”

He believes his daughter was celebrating too.

“It was divine intervention,” he said. “I really believe that.”

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Watch: Jordan Spieth aces the second hole at Bay Hill

Spieth made the third ace of his PGA Tour career, hitting 5-iron from 223 yards.

The Jordan Spieth comeback story continues this week at Bay Hill Club and Lodge.

And it keeps getting better. Making his Arnold Palmer Invitational debut, Spieth aced the par-3, 223-yard second hole.

With a ball speed of 139 miles per hour and an apex of 69 feet, his 5-iron tee shot at one of the 50 toughest holes on the PGA Tour last season landed on the front right edge of the fringe, kicked left and rolled some 50 feet right into the heart of the hole.

Spieth high-fived caddie Michael Greller and knocked knuckles with competitor Justin Rose.

It had been 13 years since anyone had made a hole-in-one at the second hole at Bay Hill during the tournament and was just the fifth ace at the hole since 1979. For Spieth, it marked his third ace on Tour. He previously made an ace in the third round of the Puerto Rico Open and the second round of the 2015 BMW Championship at the second hole at Conway Farms in Chicago.

Arnold Palmer Invitational: Leaderboard | Photos

Spieth started the day at 5 under and already was off to a great start, holing a 19-foot birdie putt. But after the birdie-eagle start, Spieth smother-hooked his tee shot into the water at the third. He took a penalty, dropped, hit to 32 feet and drained the putt for an improbable par to remain 8 under.

Quite the start to the third round for the three-time major championship who is searching for his first victory since the 2017 British Open.

[lawrence-related id=778092026,778091584,778090554,778089544]