“How has this guy not won a major in 9 years”: Rory McIlroy scoring his first-ever PGA Ace has golf fans delirious
Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy was involved in one of the most spectacular plays of the first round of the Travelers Championship this Thursday when he got the first ace of his career on the PGA Tour.
The play occurred on the eighth hole at TPC River Highlands, Connecticut (214 yards, par 3). McIlroy opted for one of his irons to look for a shot with the right height and rotation to go straight to the green. The ball traveled more than 200 yards and landed on the green a few feet from the flag, rolling directly into the hole.
ACE FOR RORY!
@McIlroyRory holes it from 214 yards @TravelersChamp 🔥 https://t.co/bKUfts2RvU
Rory McIlroy got his first hole-in-one on the PGA Tour after more than 3,200 par three holes played on the tour. He had previously achieved an ace on the European Tour.
Many fans reacted to this play on social networks. Some recalled the moment when Michael Block got an ace at the last PGA Championship while paired with Rory McIlroy. To that end, they quoted Block's words at the time, "Did I go in, Rory?"
Other users lamented that this ace came "a week late," as with such a shot, McIlroy could have won the U.S. Open and ended his nine-year major tournament drought.
Here are some of the reactions from Twitter users:
"How has this guy not won a major in 9 years with that swing. I mean come on"
@PGATOUR @McIlroyRory @TravelersChamp @AAndyhammer92 @JoeHaydon9 how has this guy not won a major in 9 years with that swing. I mean come on
"Michael Block taught Rory everything he knows"
Michael Block taught Rory everything he knows https://t.co/emVIFvl6fE
"What a great shot!"
@PGATOUR @McIlroyRory @TravelersChamp What a great shot! 🔝
"That’s one way to not have to make a putt"
@PGATOUR @McIlroyRory @TravelersChamp @JGawdebt that’s one way to not have to make a putt
Blockie, did it go in??
@PGATOUR @McIlroyRory @TravelersChamp Blockie, did it go in??
"The Blockie effect."
@PGATOUR @McIlroyRory @TravelersChamp The Blockie effect.
"If only that had happened last Sunday"
@PGATOURComms if only that had happened last Sunday
"Take that Blockie!!"
@TheLinesUS Take that Blockie!!
"Tough for him to miss that putt"
@BSSportsbook Tough for him to miss that putt
"Wish he had done that on 15 last week"
@NUCLRGOLF @TrackingRory Wish he had done that on 15 last week
Rory McIlroy at the 2023 Travelers Championship
Rory McIlroy reached hole 8 playing for +1, the product of a birdie and two bogeys. Thanks to his spectacular ace and a birdie on the ninth hole, he closed the front nine playing for -2.
The play on the ninth hole also had its dose of spectacularity, as McIlroy was 23 inches away from getting back-to-back eagles. His drive (243 yards) went straight into a bunker, from where the world number three chipped it directly to the green and just 23 inches short of the hole. He finally got the birdie.
On the back nine, the Northern Irishman played for even par, making three birdies and committing three bogeys, including one on the 13th hole, where he received a penalty stroke for falling into a water hazard. He then missed a 20-foot putt that prevented him from making par.
McIlroy also struggled with his putting throughout the round at the Travelers Championship, missing relatively close shots. Specifically, he missed putts on hole 1 (22 feet), hole 3 (8 feet), hole 4, (6 feet), hole 5 (15 feet), hole 16 (9 feet), hole 17 (21 feet) and hole 18 (22 feet). This, in addition to the aforementioned putt on hole 13.