One year ago, Matt Fitzpatrick joined the ranks of major winners with a U.S. Open victory at The Country Club. Friday morning, he knocked down a surprise ace on the 15th hole … and celebrated nearly as much as he had when winning the whole tournament.
Fitzpatrick had a less-than-spectacular Thursday, finishing at +1, and parred his way through the back nine after his 10th-tee start on Friday. Then he stepped up to the par-3 15th, set at 115 yards with a forward pin, and:
Fitzpatrick’s ace is the 51st in U.S. Open history and the third so far this year, joining holes-in-one by Matthieu Pavon and Sam Burns on Thursday. He’s the first defending champion ever to ace a hole at the U.S. Open.
This year marks only the second U.S. Open in which there were at least three aces, but LACC needs to produce one more to match the record. Oak Hill gave up four aces in 1989, all in the second round, to Doug Weaver, Mark Wiebe, Jerry Pate and Nick Price.
