Matthieu Pavon and Sam Burns both made a hole-in-one on a low-scoring opening day; Matt Fitzpatrick posted an ace on the same par-three during day two in Los Angeles; watch the US Open live on Saturday from 6pm on Sky Sports Golf
Friday 16 June 2023 22:53, UK
Matt Fitzpatrick admitted his US Open title defence may have resulted in a missed cut had he not fired the first ace of his professional career during his second round.
Fitzpatrick became the third player of the week to make a hole-in-one at Los Angeles Country Club's par-three 15th, following on from Matthieu Pavon and Sam Burns on the opening day, with the Englishman's ace helping him to a level-par 70.
The 28-year-old becomes the first defending champion in the tournament's history to make a hole-in-one, the 51st ever recorded at a US Open, with Fitzpatrick initially looking away from his tee shot before hearing the reaction from the fans as it rolled into the hole.
Fitzpatrick posted a double-bogey two holes later and mixed one birdie with one bogey during the rest of his round, seeing him heading into the weekend on one over and 10 strokes adrift of the clubhouse target set on Friday morning by Wyndham Clark.
"As soon as I hit it I felt like it was a good number and a good distance, so I knew it was going to be in and around the hole," Fitzpatrick said. "Obviously didn't expect it to go in, but it was a pleasant surprise.
"My hand was a bit sore afterwards, I'll be honest, after all the high fiving! I wish it would have been louder. I wish it was a few more people. I'm surprised there's not been as many people out as I thought this week.
"But it was so exciting to see it and first-ever professional hole-in-one. Without that I probably wouldn't be here for the weekend, so it was needed!"
There had only been 48 holes-in-one ever recorded in the US Open heading into the 2023 contest, only for three more players to add their names to that list in a little over 24 hours.
Thursday's pin at the 15th was located towards the middle of the green and resulted in multiple aces on the same hole for just the third time in US Open history, following on from the 1989 contest at Oak Hill - where there were four on the same day - and the 2020 edition at Winged Foot.
Burns flipped his sand wedge high into the air in celebration after the first hole-in-one of his professional career, with that ace coming just a few hours after Pavon landed his tee shot several feet past the pin and watched it spin back into the cup.
"That was just a perfect number, because it was a full gap [wedge]," Pavon said. "I had nothing to change, just a normal one. With my caddie we agreed that we need to pitch like one or two yards left and the ball went straight where I wanted.
"That shot from the strike to the end was just a perfect shot. The hole is just behind the slope so we can't really see it. I just saw the bounce forward and saw it was zipping left-to-right. I knew it was close, but I just heard the crowd getting more and more loud and then I just knew it was in."
It is the fourth time in five years that a hole-in-one has been recorded at the US Open, with the two on Thursday part of the lowest first-round scoring average in the tournament's history.
Will there be more holes-in-one at the 123rd US Open? Watch throughout the weekend live on Sky Sports. Live coverage continues Saturday from 6pm on Sky Sports Golf and 10pm on Sky Sports Main Event.
