Nate Lashley, 41, who won the Rocket Mortgage Classic in 2019, started this year’s tournament with a bang.
He aced his second hole of the day, the par-3 11th, which at 217 yards is known as one of the most difficult holes at the Detroit Golf Club. First hole-in-one PGA Tour career highlights.
“It was just a little bit to the right of the pin, that kind of shot. I was hoping it would go over the bunker, but it just kind of bounced perfectly and went in,” Lashley said after shooting a 2-under 70 on Thursday.
“It was a pretty good shot, but there was a lot of luck involved.”
Lashley pushed his 4-iron a little, but it hooked perfectly off the side hill and rolled right into the hole. After the round, the former Arizona Wildcats player revealed he’d had an ace before in a Korn Ferry Tour event, noting that three years ago he made a hole-in-one on Pebble Beach’s seventh hole, arguably the most famous par-3 in the world, during a practice round at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Prior to Thursday’s ace, Lashley said he had 11 holes-in-one, his first in PGA Tour competition.
“It’s something I’ll always remember,” Lashley added.
“I have a lot of memories on this golf course, so I have another memory to share here. Getting a hole-in-one and winning my first tour will be another fun thing for me in Detroit.”
The highlight of Lashlee’s career came when he won the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club in 2019. He started the year with a 9-under 63 and never looked back, winning by six strokes to win his first PGA Tour title.
He hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since then, but he did tie for third at the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this season. His next best finish was a tie for 13th at the Players Championship. Meanwhile, Lashlee has made a string of bogeys this season and missed the cut in nine of his 15 tournaments.
Thursday’s ace was followed by more bogeys.
“I was a little disappointed with my round today, I had a lot of bogeys, for sure,” Lashley said.
“It was a good shot. I missed the fairway a few times and got in some bad spots, but five bogeys is not an option on this golf course. I’ve got a lot of birdies, so hopefully there are some things I can improve on.” [Friday].”
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow For more golf articles, follow us on Twitter Jack Mirko In the same way.
