Among all the records in golf, the hole-in-one remains a coveted accolade. However, an ace in a par-4 course has been made only once. American golfer, Joel Dahmen, took his shot at scripting history at the OHL Classic this weekend. The 34-year-old set his sights on making a hole-in-one on the par-4 17th hole and came agonizingly close to success.
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Joel Dahmen nearly pulls off the impossible
Dahmen’s tryst with destiny arrived on the 17th hole of the El Camaleon Golf Club. The American was playing well in the PGA-sanctioned Tour, but a short 300 yards from the tee gave him an opportunity to better his day by a mile.
As it happened, Dahmen used a driver to take his chances. “Joel Dahmen’s gonna give it a shot with the driver,” the commentator said. The life-changing drive was struck very well as the ball hopped onto the greens. Agonizingly, the ball came to rest a few feet away from the hole.
The shot left the fans and commentators in disbelief, with the latter claiming the ball went in the hole at one point. The drive received the adulation of everyone watching but sadly wasn’t able to script history.
NO WAY!!@Joel_Dahmen came THIS close to making just the second ever hole-in-one on a par 4 in TOUR history. pic.twitter.com/xGQ5QvPaSd
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 5, 2022
Nonetheless, Dahmen got an easy putt for an eagle on the 17th. It capped off an impressive performance that left him tied for 11th, ten shots behind the leader.
Who has made the only hole-in-one on a par-4 at the PGA Tour?
Among the plethora of greats that have graced the game, a rather ordinary name takes up the impressive honor. 60-year-old, Andrew Magee, claims the record that was set in the 2001 Phoenix Open. However, his hole-in-one needed some assistance.
The 332-yard 17th hole at TPC Scottsdale provided Magee an opportunity he was seldom looking for. In his own words, the golfer was a bit steamed after shooting a birdie in a previous hole.
With the adrenaline rushing in, Magee launched a driver that traveled way longer than expected. Here’s where things get mucky. Not anticipating the ball to get this far, the greens were occupied with other players. The ball narrowly missed fellow golfer, Steve Pate, but failed to avoid one of Magee’s playing partners, Tom Byrum.
Inexplicably, the ball took the touch of heaven from Byrum’s putter to roll into the hole. As weird as it sounds, the officials deemed it to be a fair shot, awarding Magee a piece of PGA Tour history.
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