It took seven years for someone to follow up Francesco Molinari’s ace on No. 16 at TPC Scottsdale. Sam Ryder finally notched that feat yesterday, but it only took 20 hours this time before someone said “hold my beer.”
That someone was Carlos Ortiz and once again, 20,000 of golf’s rowdiest spectators let go of their beers from No. 16’s grandstand Sunday morning when the 30-year-old Mexican holed the second ace of the WM Phoenix Open’s weekend. Ortiz kept the party going, eagling No. 17 but still sits T-17 and six shots off the lead.
Full-field scores from WM Phoenix Open
In ’97, Steve Stricker claimed the second hole-in-one of the tournament just one day after Tiger Woods’ iconic moment.
You know what they say, history repeats itself, and though it took 25 years for history to repeat, Ryder, Ortiz and the 40,000 people crammed in the coliseum’s grandstand gave the golf world two highlights that will live in the sport’s highlights forever, just like Woods did 25 years ago.