The golfing gods taketh away, and the golfing gods giveth. Just ask Sepp Straka after his hole-in-one on No. 9 in Friday’s second round of the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.
Straka was the recipient of the worst kind of bounce early in the round. His approach shot on No. 3 was good … too good. It doinked off the flagstick and rebounded backward into a greenside bunker. From there Straka butchered his recovery, sending his bunker shot over the green and eventually making triple-bogey 7. Among the toughest of tough breaks.
U.S. OPEN: Leaderboard | Hole-by-hole | How to watch | Flyovers
He faced no such bad bounce on No. 9. The two-time PGA Tour winner’s approach to the 194-yard par 3 bounced perfectly on the line and rolled into the cup just like a putt for the ace. It was the first hole-in-one at this year’s U.S. Open and the third in the Opens held at Pinehurst, along with Peter Jacobsen (2005) and Zach Johnson (2014). All three aces have come on the ninth hole.
ACE! Sepp Straka holes it on the Par-3 9th! pic.twitter.com/0GAPidbeAv
— Golfweek (@golfweek) June 14, 2024
“Yea, 7-iron. Perfect number for me,” he said. “Tried to land at 185. It was a really good swing. Middle of the face, went right at it. Fortunately rolled out and went in the hole.”
Playing with good friend J.T. Poston made it even more special.
“Had one of my best friends playing with me today, J.T. He was there for my ace at Augusta during the Par 3, as well. Our celebration this time was a little bit better.”
Straka opened with an even-par 70 in the first round. The triple bogey had knocked him back substantially, but the ace got the Austrian back to 2 over for the week.
Late in the day, Francesco Molinari would ace the ninth as well to become the fourth hole-in-one there in U.S. Open history.
