The Five Best Hole-In-Ones (Videos)
Did anyone else hear that loud roar this morning? I was comfortably asleep when Rory McIlroy’s hole-in-one woke me up and vaulted him into third place in Abu Dhabi. Maybe it’s my fault I was asleep, but come on Rory it’s the last night of the work week, I was trying to rest up for the weekend! Seeing as how I was now awake, while I began my quest for the closest available coffee I started thinking about Rory’s first professional ace and wondered if it’s the greatest one of all time.
As the caffeine started to kick in I thought about what makes a great hole-in-one? The initial factor is the hole itself. Is it iconic? Or is it just your run of the mill par three? Then there’s the situation of the tournament. Is he in contention? Is this his tour debut? Is this just a guy in 62nd place playing out the string? Finally the celebration matters. If you just put the club back in the bag and smile? You’re boring me. Show some excitement! I’ll tell you what if I ever pick up an ace I’ll make a kid on Christmas look mellow. You put together all these elements and you get my five best/favorite aces of all time.
#5 Fred Couples, 1999 Players Championship
Now if you check out Freddie’s scorecard that day you won’t see a one anywhere and then you may start to wonder if I had some Irish coffee this morning. First I’ll tell you that it’s Friday morning and if I want some spiked coffee that’s ok! Next I’ll tell you that Freddie made the list for his “hole-in-three.” When playing the famed 17th Island Green he dunked his tee shot into the water. He re grouped fired away again and he dunked it again. Except this time he dunked it right into the cup. A hole-in-three, and one of the greatest pars of all time. So yes not technically a hole-in-one but for this list it counts.
#4 Tiger Woods, 1996 Greater Milwaukee Open
A young fresh faced Woods introduced himself to the professional ranks in a big way by acing the 14th hole of the now defunct Greater Milwaukee Open. It was the 9th ace of Woods’ life which is stunning enough but the reason why he made this list is because it was his debut as a pro. Woods famously introduced himself to us all with his “Hello World” press conference a few days prior and capped off the week with this ace. Something tells me this won’t be Tiger’s only appearance on this list.
#3 Rich Beem, 2007 Nissan Open
Most of you remember Beem as the guy who came out of nowhere to win the 2002 PGA Championship. For once though were talking about something else, his feel good ace of the 17th hole at Riviera. The hole isn’t iconic and Beem wasn’t in contention but he did win a car. Just think about how many of you have played in an outing hoping to win a car on a par three. Well Beem did it and he was excited to say the least. He jumped on top of the Nissan with his hands up in the air and you could feel his excitement. Heck if I won a car I might jump on top of it too!
#2 Tiger Woods, 1997 Phoenix Open
I told you that he would be back. As Tiger prepares to return to TPC Scotsdale in a few weeks his ace in the third round on the famed 16th may have set off the biggest collective celebration ever on a golf course. The 16th hole is already the biggest party in professional golf and once you add an ace with one of the game’s most flamboyant figures of all time, you get madness. The fist pump was ferocious the roar of the crowd was thunderous and the amount of beer that was flying through the stands was drenching. To this day it’s the greatest professional hole-in-one we’ve seen from Woods and the most memorable shot on one of golf’s most memorable holes.
#1 Jonathan Byrd, 2010 Shriners Hospitals Open
How is it that the only player on this list to not win a major claims the top spot? His ace won the tournament. On the fourth hole of a sudden death playoff with Martin Laird and Cameron Percy, Byrd ripped a 6 iron and just like that the playoff was over. What’s even more amazing about this was that the three players agreed to only play one more hole as darkness began to engulf TPC Summerlin. They agreed on one more hole but, it was just one more swing from Byrd that sealed the victory.
There are plenty of people on the planet who may not know the ins and outs of golf, heck they may have no idea what color the jacket is at the Masters, but a hole-in-one is something everyone knows. It is the most recognizable term in golf and these were just five of the most memorable ones so far. Until the next epic hole-in-one.