Patrick Wills’ round of 57 may not be the lowest round ever shot, but for holes-in-ones, it takes the cake.
I have a golf writer buddy named Wes. He’s actually a pretty good player who enjoys telling others that he’s famous for having two hole-in-ones in one round. Now that’s rare, but not quite as rare as Wes believes. According to Golf Digest, at least 113 other golfers have also accomplished that feat as of 2016.
Did you know that two hole-in-ones in one round has been accomplished three times on the PGA Tour? Bill Whedon did it first in 1955, followed by Yusaku Miyazato at the Reno-Tahoe Open in 2006, and Brian Harmon in 2015 at The Barclays.
In 2016, alone a 73-year old woman, Margery Hadar found the hole twice in her round using her Driver both times, once on a hole measuring 112 yards. The feat becomes a bit more impressive when you discover that Margery had only been playing for three years and has not been better than a 30+ handicapper.
According to Golf Digest’s stats beginning 2016, Margery is just the 17th female golfer to accomplish the feat, but far from the youngest . That honor goes to a pair of 85-year olds, Phyllis Semple and George Canney.
Later in 2016, Gregory Shaugnessy did it too, The site was Rockville Links Club in Rockville Centre, N.Y., on Aug. 27. What made Shaugnessy’s feat so noteworthy is that he lost both his treasured balls on ensuring tee shots. And one other golfer claims to have accomplished the same feat in three holes at famed Pebble Beach, the fifth and seventh holes.
And did you also know that as of 2006, four triple-eagles have been recorded on par-fives (reportedly on severe doglegs)? The longest recorded straight drive hole-in-one is believed to be 517 yards by Mike Crean at the par-5 9th hole at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in Denver in 2002, aided by the thin air due of the high altitude.
And it gets even better… Patrick Wills, a better-than-scratch golfer shot a 14-under par 57 in an amateur tournament in Virginia aided by three hole-in-ones including one on a par-four! And this man has a history of stellar play in his region and once got past regional qualifiers in an ultimately unsuccessful try for the Champions Tour. Anyway, this feat is recognized by the Guinness Book of Records though another golfer also claims to have made three in one round.
Impressed? I’ve saved maybe the best for last. On January 28, 1995, 70-year old Cy Young scored two hole-in-ones at the Lakeview Golf Course in Delray Beach, Florida. On the first hole, he nailed his 3-iron 96 yards right into the hole. He did it again on the 13th with a soaring 3-wood into the cup 107 yards away. So what you say? Cy only has one arm!
P.S. And back to my friend Wes. I had not had a hole-in-one for more than a decade, but Wes is good karma for me. After meeting him for the first time and playing together for a week in Bermuda, I scored my 8th hole-in-one at the end of the trip. Just a few hours before reuniting with him a month later in Mesquite, I scored my 9th one just 25 holes later. Wes must have rubbed off on me, but that ruined my distinction of having more double-eagles (8) than hole-in-ones. A year later we again got together in Tucson and I finished my next-to-last hole of that trip with a full-three wood into the wind for another “one!” Otherwise, my only claim to hole-outs was twice being 5-under par for two consecutive holes (Isleta Eagle, NM and Lake Chabot, CA). Go figure…
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