British Open 2019: Emiliano Grillo makes first ace at Open Championship since 2016

It happened on the 13th hole at Royal Portrush, but the roar from the grandstands that accompanied Emiliano Grillo’s ace reverberated all the way to the third tee.

“Must have been a hole-one-one,” a fan mused.

“Or a chip-in,” suggested another.

But the noise was at the level reserved for one of golf’s ultimate achievements — a hole-in-one. A bucket-list feat for anyone who loves the game, but one that’s especially sweet when it happens at a major championship.

As it turns out, a hole-in-one at an Open Championship is pretty rare. The last time it happened? All the way back in 2016 at Royal Troon, when Louis Oosthuizen dropped one in on the 178-yard 14th hole.

Grillo’s ace was glorious to watch. On the 200-yard par-3 13th at Royal Portrush, his tee shot landed on the left side of the green, just high enough on a swale to roll out what looked like 20-25 feet, giving the crowd plenty of time to anticipate the ball going into the hole. And when it did, they were delighted to shout their approval.

The hole-in-one brought Grillo back to even on the day, but he bogeyed two more holes on his home stretch to finish with a two-over-par 73. You can watch a video of his awesome shot below.

HOLE-IN-ONE! @GrilloEmiliano with the 1st ace at The Open since 2016 #TheOpen
Live coverage ? https://t.co/V5gkRJCUkC … pic.twitter.com/msunSxlDaU

— The Open (@TheOpen) July 18, 2019

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