Driving to the course, everyone has visions of the perfect start to their round. For most golfers, that means a solid tee shot, nice approach into the green and then holing the putt for birdie. For the most ambitious among us, their dreams might stretch to carding an eagle on the 1st, but that borders the line of greed.
On Thursday at the World Wide Technology Championship, Chris Kirk took it to another level.
With clouds in the sky and the sun just peeking over the horizon, Kirk pulled out his 6-iron and took aim for the green at the par-3 10th hole (his first of the day) at El Camaleón Golf Course. He drew the club back and fired his ball directly toward the pin.
The ball landed just short of the pin and started rolling toward the hole. But in the low morning light, the group did not see where it finished up.
When they approached the green, there wasn’t a ball in sight.
“It’s either in or just over in the rough,” Kirk said.
Sure enough, when Kirk’s caddie checked the hole, his player’s pearly white ball was staring back at him. A hole-in-one on the first swing of the day.
“Made me feel a little better about my 4:30 wake-up call this morning,” Kirk said. “It was pretty cool.”
Not the worst way to start the day.
Kirk parlayed that momentum in a solid opening nine, adding two birdies and another eagle to his card. By day’s end, the 36-year-old signed for a seven-under 64, good for T3 in the early going.
“I was definitely happy with the start,” he said. “It was a little bit of a strange day, but a lot of fun out there.”
Kirk will tee off on No. 1 tomorrow at 12:35 p.m. ET.
