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.
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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.
ACE! Sepp Straka holes it on the Par-3 9th! pic.twitter.com/0GAPidbeAv
— Golfweek (@golfweek) June 14, 2024
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 plus-2 for the week.