‘I kind of blacked out’: Harris English makes ace history at East Lake

ATLANTA – If Harris English is being honest, the 211-yard 15^th hole at East Lake isn’t where one expects to make up ground on the lead.

“No. 15, you’re just really trying to make par, just trying to hit it to 20 feet,” he said of the hole, which features a peninsula green with water left, right and short.

But when his 5-iron, which he admitted he “tugged,” launched toward the hole late in Thursday’s opening round, English took notice. When it trundled into the hole for the most unlikely hole in one, he “blacked out.”

“I don’t know how loud I got. I kind of blacked out there for 15 seconds,” said English, who played his final four holes in 4 under to move into a tie for third at the Tour Championship.

English said he’s made six holes in one since he’s been on the PGA Tour, but this was the first in a competitive round. It was the first hole-in-one at East Lake’s 15^th hole during the Tour Championship, and it also promised to be an expensive breakthrough.

“I know my caddie was pumped. He’s a big wine guy and I know he’s not going to forget about that one,” he said. “He just loves Caymus [wine].”