Dylan Wu overnight (AEST) made the first albatross – a score of three-under on a single hole – of his PGA Tour career, and just the third of the year on tour.
And it was completely missed by TV cameras.
Wu started his first round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic at the Detroit Golf Club from the 10th tee. He arrived at the par-five 14th at one-under after back-to-back birdies.
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His tee shot found the right fairway, and his 240m second shot with a hybrid found the hole.
The smoky conditions caused by the massive Canadian bushfires meant Wu didn’t see the ball drop.
To rub salt into the wound, the TV camera in the tower behind the green was not manned as the broadcast didn’t start until hours later.
“We were walking up to the green, I’m like, ‘I’m pretty sure the camera’s not on,'” Wu said.
“I hit it perfect I thought, but I kind of lost it halfway because of the haze and the grandstand and everything.
“So I looked at my caddie and I’m like, ‘Where’d that go?’ And he said, ‘It’s going pretty close to the pin.’ And then I didn’t see it land and then like a couple seconds later the crowd went wild.
“It was pretty surreal.”
Only 18 Albatrosses have ever been made in Majors. All bar one were made on par-fives – Young Tom Morris made a three on the par-six first hole in the first round of the 1870 British Open at Prestwick.
The only other notable albatross on the PGA Tour that didn’t occur on a par-five was that of Andrew Magee in 2001, who hit a hole-in-one on the par-four 17th at TBC Scottsdale. That ball ricocheted off the putter of a player in the group ahead and rolled into the hole. While he remains the only one to do it on the PGA Tour, several have been recorded on the LPGA.
Wu carded a seven-under 65 to be a shot behind co-leaders Taylor Moore and Peter Keust – a Monday-qualifier ranked 789th in the world.
In a stat not often seen even on the PGA Tour, his card included an albatross, an eagle, birdies, pars and bogeys.
Cam Davis is the best of the Aussies in a tie for 39th at three-under.
– With AP
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