June13 Immelman

Trevor Immelman aced the 288-yard par-3 eighth during a practice round at Oakmont yesterday.

While many players are slating the hole for being too long, the South African just knocked a three-wood into the hole.

He said: “The flag on the green was so far away that you couldn’t see the ball land, and it was so far away you couldn’t hear the crowd do anything, either. We played it from the back and the flag was in the back. I hit 3-wood. I was aiming at the middle of the green but I pulled it slightly and it just went dead straight.

“We saw it bounce so I knew it didn’t land in the bunker, but then we didn’t see anything after that. We were walking up to the green wondering where in the hell the ball had gone — and we found it in the hole. The fans started clapping. My caddy was walking past the hole and then he took it out and threw it into the crowd before I could keep it. It was crazy. I’ll definitely take that during the tournament. To be honest, if you just hit it on the green there, you’ve hit an incredible shot. So for it to go in, that’s once in a lifetime.

“The eighth hole is quite a test. Seriously, a 288-yard par 3 is kind of ridiculous. I hit a 3-wood there yesterday, too, and then off the tee just in front, I hit a 3-iron. Today the wind was off to the left a little. You have a little bit more of a chance from the left bunker because there’s not as big of a lip there as some of these bunkers have.

“If you can kind of run it up that left bunker to green-high you normally have a fairly simple bunker shot so you’re hoping to get it up and down. But just like every other shot on this golf course, you’ve got to suck it up. Three’s not too much room for error.”

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