Three men, two aces in the one round
By Laury Livsey/PGA Tour
Brian Harman hit his seven iron on the third hole of the final round at the 2015 Barclays, a tournament now known as The Northern Trust, and he watched as the ball rolled on the green, eventually dropping in the hole. More than a bit excited, he turned to his caddie and said, “That’s my first one out here.”
It most certainly was.
Harman, the lefthander and celebrated amateur from the University of Georgia who joined the PGA Tour in 2012, had never made a hole in one in competition, let alone one in a PGA Tour event. After such a long wait, what did Harman do? He merely waited 90 minutes to replicate the feat.
Eleven holes later, on the 220-yard No 14 at Plainfield Country Club in New Jersey, Harman pulled a four iron from his bag, made his swing and again watched as the ball settled in the bottom of the cup. It’s a rarity you get to write two ones on the scorecard.
“That’s awesome” is all playing partner Charles Howell III could say after Harman made his second hole in one.
Yes, it was awesome, with unlikely, crazy and hard to fathom additional descriptions Howell could have also used. Yet, it was not the first time in PGA Tour history a player has made two holes in one in the same round. Two others know the feeling.
Harman joined the select group that included a career amateur from Connecticut and a Japanese golfer who played only one full PGA Tour season before returning to his homeland.
Of all the players and tournaments and par threes played in PGA Tour history, only three know what it’s like to make a couple of aces in a round while thousands who have played PGA Tour golf have no idea.
The first to pull off the double-ace feat was amateur Bill Whedon, at the 1955 Insurance City Open in Hartford, Conneticut, a tournament still on the tour schedule known as the Travelers Championship. Whedon made his aces about 30 minutes apart, on the fifth hole and the ninth hole at Wethersfield Country Club.
It was a long wait until Japan’s Yusaku Miyazato, in only his eighth PGA Tour start and his only tour appearance of 2006, replicated the drama, making two aces in the second round of the Reno-Tahoe Open. His came on the seventh and 12th holes at Montreux Golf and Country Club. Then it became Harman’s turn.
Those flurry of aces didn’t translate to any appreciable tournament success by any of the players. Harman tied for 30th, Miyazato tied for 21st and Whedon was 71st, none of the three ever in contention. Today, Whedon, 92, is long since retired and living in Connecticut, not far from the site of his most famous golf accomplishment.
Meanwhile, Harman continues to play on. He had already won once prior to his hole in one heroics, at the 2014 John Deere Classic. He added a second tour title, the 2017 Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina. This season, he’s 57th in the FedExCup standings.
In Japan, Miyazato has carved out an excellent career, with most of his success coming in the last seven years. Beginning with his first Japan Golf Tour victory, the 2013 Golf Nippon Series JT Cup, the Okinawa native has won seven JGTO titles, including the prestigious Dunlop Phoenix (2015) and the Japan PGA Championship (2017). The 40-year-old Miyazato has not played a PGA Tour event since the 2018 PGA Championship,
After his one spectacular day, Whedon never made another hole in one, while neither Harman or Miyazato have had holes in one since their respective rounds in New Jersey and Nevada. Earlier in his career, however, Miyazato had an ace on the Japan Golf Tour in 2005 and an albatross in 2004.
Two in the same round again, though? It doesn’t seem likely, although Harman thinks about making an ace every time he steps to the tee on a par three.
“Obviously, I’m trying to make a lot of holes in one. Hopefully I'll have a lot more, but definitely I'll remember the ones I have.”
Yusaku Miyazato who scored two holes in one on the PGA Tour in 2006. Photo credit: Rob Carr/Getty Images.