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Sepp Straka Makes Hole in One at U.S. Open Shortly After Suffering Awful Break

The Austrian hit two flagsticks in his first nine holes Friday, one led to triple bogey and the other was an ace.

John Schwarb

Sepp Straka made a Hole in One on Friday at the U.S. Open.
Sepp Straka made a Hole in One on Friday at the U.S. Open. / Adam Cairns-USA TODAY Sports

PINEHURST, N.C. — Sepp Straka experienced the agony and ecstasy of a U.S. Open in the span of seven holes in his second round Friday.

Let’s do the ecstasy first: on the 9th hole at Pinehurst No. 2, the 31-year-old Austrian aced the 194-yard par-3, landing his iron shot short of the hole and watching it roll in like a putt with a soft kiss off the flagstick.

The ace was the first of the 2024 U.S. Open.

Straka had never had a hole in one on the PGA Tour, and it could rightfully be considered payback from the golf gods for the agony of a terrible break a few holes earlier.

From the fairway at the par-4 3rd, Straka took dead aim and hit the flagstick, only to see his ball violently ricochet off the stick and back into a bunker.

His third shot from the bunker sailed off the back of the green into one of the many native areas surrounding the course, and he needed four more shots from there to finish the hole. In short, he hit the flagstick and walked off with a triple bogey.

For his front nine Friday, Straka had an ace, a birdie, two bogeys and a triple bogey: 2 over par in all. Welcome to the U.S. Open.

Published |Modified
John Schwarb
JOHN SCHWARB

John Schwarb is a senior editor for Sports Illustrated covering golf. Prior to joining SI in March 2022, he worked for ESPN.com, PGATour.com, Tampa Bay Times and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He is the author of The Little 500: The Story of the World's Greatest College Weekend. A member of the Golf Writers Association of America, Schwarb has a bachelor's in journalism from Indiana University.

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