At the 125-yard 17th hole in the first round of THE PLAYERS Championship on Thursday morning, Hayden Buckley made a hole-in-one.
Buckley, 27, recorded his second PGA TOUR ace when his pitching wedge tee shot missed the pin and bounced back into the hole. Buckley threw his hat into the air, igniting a wild celebration with his caddie, Brian Mahoney, and his playing partners, Adam Long and Taylor Montgomery.
The shot put Buckley, who started his round on the back nine, in a temporary tie for the lead with Austin Smotherman, Min Woo Lee, and Taylor Pendrith at 3 under for the first eight holes.
It was the 11th ace at the renowned 17th hole, the 35th at TPC Sawgrass, and the 40th in tournament history. On the 17th hole of Round 1 of the 2021 Shriners Children’s Open, Buckley also hit a hole-in-one.
Buckley’s season of harrowing events continued on Thursday morning at TPC Sawgrass. He had missed three cuts in a row before this week, but he played until the very end at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January, finishing second only to winner Si Woo Kim with a 68 in the final round. Buckley is currently 27th in the FedExCup and still searching for his first TOUR victory.
