Rory McIlroy delivers spectacular hole-in-one at Pebble Beach Pro-Am
Shreeaa Rathi | Jan 31, 2025, 22:08 IST
( Image credit : AP )
Rory McIlroy made a stunning hole-in-one on the 15th hole at Spyglass Hill in his PGA Tour season debut at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Shane Lowry also scored an ace at the 7th hole. Despite their performances, both trailed leader Russell Henley by two strokes. Scottie Scheffler overcame a hand injury to post a five-under-par round.
McIlroy, who last recorded a hole-in-one at the 2023 Travelers Championship, showcased his precision by launching a 119-yard wedge shot that went straight into the cup without bouncing. The extraordinary shot left spectators in awe and sparked enthusiastic celebrations among McIlroy, his caddie, and playing partners, including Ryder Cup teammate Ludvig Åberg.
“It’s such an elevated tee that the ball’s in the air and you know it’s online, but you don’t know whether to say ‘Go’ or ‘Sit’ or ‘Spin’ or ‘Release’ or whatever,” McIlroy reflected. “You’re looking at it and you’re watching where it might land on the green, and the thing just disappears. It was a good swing, good wedge shot. It was obviously a nice little moment.”
Adding to the excitement, McIlroy’s Ryder Cup teammate Shane Lowry also scored an ace, this time at the iconic 7th hole at Pebble Beach. While his shot followed a more traditional path—landing on the green and rolling in—his celebration was just as exuberant. Lowry’s ace marked the third of his PGA Tour career, with previous ones coming at the 2016 Masters and the 2022 Players Championship. According to Sky Sports, this was the first time since 2009 that multiple holes-in-one had been recorded in a single round at the Pebble Beach tournament.
Despite their incredible performances, McIlroy and Lowry both finished the round at six-under-par, trailing leader Russell Henley by two strokes. A tight leaderboard featured Jake Knapp, Justin Rose, Cam Davis, Sepp Straka, Rasmus Højgaard, and Viktor Hovland all just one shot behind Henley.
Meanwhile, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler made his return to competitive golf after missing the first two tournaments of the year due to a bizarre injury. On Christmas Day, Scheffler sustained what he called a “stupid” hand injury while rolling out ravioli dough with a wine glass. The reigning Masters champion, who also secured Olympic gold in Paris and won seven PGA Tour events in 2024, quickly regained his form. Despite opening with a bogey, he steadied his game and made it his only misstep of the round, finishing five-under-par.
Golf analyst Justin Ray noted that this was Scheffler’s 100th PGA Tour round since the start of 2022 in which he recorded one or fewer bogeys. Reflecting on his performance, Scheffler expressed optimism: “I like what I saw today. I hit a few errant shots out there, but overall kept the course in front of me for the most part, so I was able to make a decent amount of birdies.”
With the second round set to begin on Friday, the competition remains wide open, promising more thrilling moments on one of golf’s most iconic courses.