There’s nothing quite like the feeling of nailing a hole-in-one on the golf course, something not everyone gets to experience, and we have delved into the archives to find the longest, and some of the best, in PGA Tour history.
Making a hole in one is, of course, not something that happens very often on the golf course, but there are certain players that have had more success than others in this department.
Since the 1983 PGA Tour season, Hal Sutton and Robert Allenby have both made 10 Aces, the joint-highest, while the American Express is the tournament with the most hole-in-ones, having seen 54.
The longest recorded hole-in-one ever was made by Mike Crean, when he holed out on the par 5 ninth hole at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in Denver in 2002 from a distance of 517 yards (473 metres). Crean was a four handicapper, and no doubt the thin air at altitude assisted him to make his mightily impressive ‘condor’.
However, for the purposes of this article we are going to concentrate on the longest aces made during the PGA Tour.
Ace on a Par-Four Hole!
There has only ever been one recorded hole-in-one on a par-four in PGA Tour history, the feat being achieved by Andrew Magee back in 2001 at the Waste Management Phoenix.
Arriving at the 332-yard 17th hole at TPC Scottsdale, Magee let fly from the tee box and his ball proceeding to fly down the fairway, trundle on to the green, before diverting off Tom Byrum’s putter in the group ahead and diving into the hole.
There is footage, of sorts, of the only hole-in-one on a par-four, with the cameras just picking up the ball as it neared the green. Have a look at the amazing incident below!
Barber Strikes in Buick
Rolling back the years to 1962 and the Buick Invitational, where 1961 US PGA champion Jerry Barber recorded the first televised hole-in-one at the 17th hole of the final round.
Standing at 222 yards, the late American sent one on its way before the ball took a nice bounce onto the green and dived into the hole, sending the packed crowd into raptures.
Skip to 3:33 on the video below to see this fantastic moment.
Byrd Ends in Style
One of the greatest ends to a PGA tournament came 11 years ago at the 2010 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open when Jonathan Byrd landed the spoils in dramatic fashion.
Martin Laird, Cameron Percy and Byrd had all finished tied on -21 after 72 holes, forcing the trio in a play-off, and they couldn’t be separated after the first three sudden-death holes.
With the light fading, the decision was made to play one last hole at the 204-yard par-three 17th. Byrd then proceeded to hit the ball straight in the cup from the tee box, claiming the title in amazing style.
Woods Makes His Mark
No hole-in-one list would be complete without the name of Tiger Woods, one of the greatest players to have played the game. Now a 15-time Major champion, landing the most recent of those at the 2019 Masters, the American made his pro debut at the 1996 Greater Milwaukee Open in sensational style.
Woods was not in contention going into Sunday’s final round but he still found a way to get the attention back on him when making an incredible hole-in-one at the 202-yard par-three 14th.
It was obvious that he would go on to achieve great things after that, right?
Check out our post on The Longest Holes in Golf – not even Bryson would be able to make a hole in one on these monsters!
