It’s turning into quite the week for Rory McIlroy. After making his TGL debut for Boston Common Golf on Monday, albeit ending up on the losing side, he has now made an ace in the first round of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
The tournament is McIlroy’s first appearance on the PGA Tour this year, and he had made a bright enough start. Beginning on the 10th tee, he made a birdie on his third hole of the day at Spyglass Hill to keep him in touch with the early leaders.
After a minor wobble on his fifth of the day when he three-putted the 14th to make par, it didn’t take him long to get that out of his system.
On the very next hole, the 119-yard par-3, he couldn’t have judged his wedge shot any better, making a slam dunk hole-in-one to go three-under and briefly tie the lead.
119 yards ➡️ IN!For the second time in his career, @McIlroyRory has an ace on the PGA TOUR! pic.twitter.com/XywFx6oSekJanuary 30, 2025
Naturally, McIlroy’s moment of magic was greeted by cheering and scenes of jubilation, with high fives all round as he gave his chances of a maiden win at the tournament an early boost.
Perhaps even more remarkable than McIlroy’s stunning effort is the fact it is only the second hole-in-one of his professional career, the other coming at the 2023 Travelers Championship.
McIlroy will certainly be hopeful that his solid start to the tournament is a sign of things to come as the season continues. Earlier in the week, he revealed that he had “three goals for the rest of my career,” and he has the opportunity to achieve two of them in 2025.
Speaking to the BBC Sport's Iain Carter, he said: "Winning the Masters, winning an Olympic medal and another away Ryder Cup, they are my three goals for the rest of my career."
The Masters is now less than three months away, while he’ll also have the chance to back up his 2023 Ryder Cup win with another at Bethpage Black in September.
Whatever happens, he'll be hoping his moment of brilliance on the 15th at Spyglass Hill is one of many highlights to come in the months ahead.
