Call it the luck of the Irish.
Just hours after Rory McIlroy slam-dunked a hole-in-one on the 15th hole at Spyglass Hill, Shane Lowry made an ace on the 7th hole at Pebble Beach, one of the most famous par-3s in the world.
“It came out lovely just left of the hole, which is where you need to pitch it if you want to get it real close,” Lowry said.
“Yeah, big bounce, it was perfect. It just spun and spun right into the hole. It was pretty cool.”
To celebrate, Lowry and McIlroy bought a few dozen beers and pizza for those in the media center. As the adage goes, if you make a hole-in-one, you have to buy everyone a drink to celebrate. The Irishmen delivered and then some, doing so with a touch of class for those covering the event at Pebble Beach.
Lowry and McIlroy did not participate though.
“School night, so unfortunately not for me,” Lowry said.
“If there’s a few people there at dinner, I’m sure. Hopefully Rory’s there as well, I get to split the bill with him.”
Lowry’s ace on Thursday puts him in rarefied air. He has now made a hole-in-one on the 16th hole at Augusta National, the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass, and now the 7th hole at Pebble Beach.
“I’ve been very lucky with all the ones,” Lowry added.
“Here and Augusta and Sawgrass. Yeah, I don’t know what to say, I guess it’s just luck of the Irish or something, I don’t know. I know I’m pretty good at times, but you know, a bit of luck every now and then is helpful, too.”
McIlroy and Lowry each shot 6-under 66s during the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and sit two strokes behind leader Russell Henley after day one. But Lowry feels that his shot was better, considering the significance of the 7th hole.
“Yeah. Slam dunked it, didn’t he?” Lowry said when asked about McIlroy’s ace.
“Yeah, mine is definitely better.”
It’s hard to argue one way or another, but McIlroy’s ace immediately drew comparisons to the 2023 PGA Championship, when Michael Block dunked in a hole-in-one on the 15th hole at Oak Hill. Ironically enough, McIlroy played with Block during that final round in Rochester.
“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 said of his tee shot on 15.
“It’s sort of weird, you’re looking at it and you’re sort of watching where it might land on the green and the thing just disappears. Honestly, it was lucky, I don’t see many balls nowadays go straight in the hole and stay in the hole. Pretty fortunate because it could have come out and went back in the water or do anything. It was a good swing and a good wedge shot.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
