Little-known Aussie Travis Smyth became the toast of the golf world at The Open on Friday when he nailed a hole-in-one at the controversial new 17th hole at Royal Liverpool. The 28-year-old went out with a blaze of glory as he missed the cut, becoming the first player to nail an ace on the revamped hole.
The controversial new 132-yard par-three is designed to create more late drama at Hoylake. Smyth’s tee shot with a nine-iron took one bounce on the green and rolled straight into the hole, much to his astonishment and delight.
“It was amazing. A bit bittersweet actually. I had a shocker the day before on the same hole, made a double bogey,” said Smyth, a professional who makes his crust on the Asian Tour. “I was just really happy I hit a good shot because I was so disappointed from Thursday.
Huge surprise that it went in the hole. It was just the perfect distance, perfect wind and the club. Everything just came together – and it was a moment I’ll never forget.
“It was a chippy 9-iron, and probably half-way through the flight I was, ‘All right, this is going to be good’. It looked amazing.”
Smyth said it was the third ace of his career. “Both the other two were – I wouldn’t say poor shots, but I wasn’t aiming at the flag,” he revealed.
