British Open: Ace! Travis Smyth cards first-ever hole-in-one at Royal Liverpool's 17th
In his first major, Australia's Travis Smyth stroked the first-ever ace at Royal Liverpool's "Little Eye."
The 132-yard par 3 17th hole at Royal Liverpool is a terrifying threat to any player's card. Go left, there's a pot bunker. Fall short, there's another bunker. Go right, there's a steep dropoff and then another bunker. The good options are few, the possibility of carnage everywhere.
Friday morning, though, Travis Smyth figured out the easiest way to play the hole: Just put the ball in the bottom of the cup from the tee.
Hole-in-one on 17!
Travis Smyth with an historic shot at Little Eye. pic.twitter.com/CkgTl2lvtt— The Open (@TheOpen) July 21, 2023
"It was amazing, a bittersweet [moment] actually," Smyth said. "I had a shock of the day before, made double bogey, and I was just really happy I hit a good shot because I was just so disappointed from the day before. Yeah, huge surprise that it went in the hole.
"It was just the perfect distance, perfect wind and the club. Everything just kind of came together, and it was a moment I'll never forget."
Smyth, an Australian player who currently competes on the Asian Tour, has also played in several LIV events. This year's Open Championship is his first major.
"It was really, really loud. It was awesome," Smyth said. "If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have known it went in. You couldn't see it. You couldn't probably see half of the flagstick.
"If it wasn't for the guys up by the green, I wouldn't have known it went in. It was great. It was awesome. Even walking back to 18th tee people were yelling my name, walking down 18 people were yelling my name. Yeah, it was cool. I almost hit the same ball down 18, but with the out of bounds just there I thought I should change balls and leave that ball with a good memory."
This is the first ace at the Open since Jonathan Thomson at Royal St. George's in 2021 and the first at Royal Liverpool since Richard Sterne and John Senden in 2006. Young Tom Morris recorded the first hole in one at an Open all the way back in 1869. No winner has carded an ace in his round since 1961, the earliest year for which detailed records are available.
This year's Open marks the debut of the short 17th, dubbed "Little Eye." On Day 1, it caused problems for several players. Lucas Herbert saw his lead vaporize when he triple-bogeyed the hole, and Phil Mickelson began a disastrous close to his round with a double bogey on the hole. Little Eye is likely to play a significant role in the outcome of the Open, but at least Smyth will have happy memories of it.
