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British Open: Si Woo Kim hits long hole-in-one in historic first on No. 17 at Royal Troon

Si Woo Kim's ace brought him back to 5-over for the week at the British Open

ryan young
Staff writer
·2-min read

Si Woo Kim hasn’t been having the best week at Royal Troon. Now, though, he’s pulled off a historic first in Scotland.

Kim hit the first hole-in-one of this year’s British Open on Saturday morning. He landed his tee shot on the long par-3 17th just short of the green, and it ran up and in perfectly. That prompted a huge celebration at the tee for Kim, who said he couldn’t see it fall.

“I was not doing very well and then I was feeling terrible for my shot the last couple days,” Kim said. “Then finally I got the best golf shot I’ve ever had this week. That goes in, and that makes me more special, especially at the major and the Open here.”

The hole-in-one was the first that has ever been hit on the No. 17 hole at a British Open, and the longest ace in recorded British Open history at 238 yards, according to the Golf Channel’s Justin Ray.

Kim has won four times on the PGA Tour, most recently at the Sony Open in Hawaii last year. He’s currently ranked No. 48 in the Official World Golf Rankings. While he’s missed only a single cut in 20 starts this season, Kim has just a single top-10 finish.

Kim was at 7-over on the week when he stepped up to the 17th tee on Saturday. While the hole-in-one brought him back to even par on the day, he’ll still enter Sunday at 5-over — which has him out of contention and well behind Shane Lowry, who started Moving Day at 7-under.

“It was amazing,” Kim said. “I had plenty of holes-in-one in my life. Maybe over 10 times, at tournaments like six to eight times, but I think this is the most memorable hole-in-one.”