Rory McIlroy has achieved a lot since he began his professional golf career in 2007, including four major championships and 122 weeks at number one in the Official World Golf Ranking.
But before Thursday, a feat eluded him: a hole-in-one at an official PGA Tour event.
That changed for the Northern Irishman when he birdied the par-3 eighth hole during the first round of the Travelers’ Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut.
Ice for Rory!@employee Its openings are of 214 yards @employee 🔥 pic.twitter.com/bKUfts2RvU
– PGA Tour (PGATOUR) June 22, 2023
McIlroy stepped into the tee box on the 214-yard hole at TPC River Highlands with his 5-iron. His ball hit the green meat with a small bounce and it tracked straight for the pin.
McIlroy, 34, threw both hands in the air before taking the five-year-old up with his caddy and playing partners Tom Kim of South Korea and Victor Hovland of Norway.
According to the PGA Tour, McIlroy has played a career-high 3,253 par holes before Thursday.
The shot helped McIlroy get off the starting one through seven holes and put him on 1-under. He closed the front nine with a birdie after blasting it from a fairway bunker to within two feet of the cup.