PGA Tour star Rory McIlroy has done nearly everything there is to do in his illustrious career. However, he did accomplish a first at the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands which kicked off on Thursday.
McIlroy is coming off an emotional second-place finish at the 2023 U.S. Open last week. Some would be off their game following such a heartbreaking defeat, but McIlroy came in and impressed early in his opening round Thursday afternoon.
His round actually wasn’t going all that well until he reached hole No. 8, a Par 3 that was playing 214 yards. He stepped up to the tee hoping to make up ground on the hole, but even he likely wasn’t expecting what happened next.
McIlroy proceeded to land his tee shot just short of the hole. letting it roll out and go right into the bottom of the cup for a hole-in-one.
ACE FOR RORY!@McIlroyRory holes it from 214 yards @TravelersChamp 🔥 pic.twitter.com/bKUfts2RvU
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 22, 2023
He was all smiles after the ace, realizing that it was a moment he had not quite had on the PGA Tour yet.
The moment @McIlroyRory knew it went in 👏 pic.twitter.com/HsncRackD5
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 22, 2023
McIlroy has played for the PGA Tour since 2010, but this was actually the first hole-in-one in his career on tour. He has notably played 3,253 Par 3’s on tour before getting to have this moment.
Reigning FedExCup Champion and World No. 3 Rory McIlroy records a hole-in-one at No. 8 during the first round of the Travelers Championship, using a 5-iron.
First career ace for McIlroy on the PGA TOUR (has played 3,253 par-3's). https://t.co/rTanlX6d15
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) June 22, 2023
Many around the golf world took notice of his accomplishment and praised him for the unbelievable shot.
RORY MCILROY ACE 🔥 pic.twitter.com/VapXu6M6z3
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 22, 2023
A HOLE-IN-ONE FOR RORY MCILROY 🚨 pic.twitter.com/3YdrgsBhBy
— ActionGolfHQ (@ActionGolfHQ) June 22, 2023
🚨 RORY MCILROY ACE 🚨 pic.twitter.com/r6mj9X2pZq
— DraftKings Sportsbook (@DKSportsbook) June 22, 2023
RORY MCILROY WITH THE ACE FROM 214 YARDS. 🔥🤯
Rory is T-20 thru 11 and sits +1000 to win the Travelers Championship outright. pic.twitter.com/FOVaoaUYwh
— Covers (@Covers) June 22, 2023
RORY MCILROY ACE ON 8! ⛳️pic.twitter.com/QseUJdZ59o
— SuperBook Sports (@SuperBookSports) June 22, 2023
While this shot was obviously impressive, the rest of his round did have some extremely poor moments. He notably finished with four bogeys in the round, finishing at -2 which is around the middle of the pack in the 156-player field.
Regardless, the hole-in-one for McIlroy will surely be a moment that he will never forget and another thing for him to cross off his to-do list.
