Rory McIlroy made his first-ever PGA Tour ace at the Travelers. Here’s why he threw the ball away

It’s hard to believe it’s only been four days since the end of the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club, and yet here we are, across the country in Cromwell, Conn., keeping pace with the PGA Tour schedule’s steady drumbeat at the Travelers Championship.

After a narrow defeat in pursuit of his fifth major championship in LA, Rory McIlroy was among the dozens of players who showed up at TPC River Highlands straight from the Open. No rest for the weary on Tour — and there’s still one more major to prepare for. The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool is only four weeks away.

Still, you have to wonder what kind of fatigue players like McIlroy are feeling after a long, grueling week in California. His first-round of two-under 68 has him T46 — about the top third of the field. But he’s a whopping eight shots behind leader Denny McCarthy.

But despite McIlroy’s up-and-down day (five birdies, five bogeys), he did manage to notch an accomplishment that he’s never done before: his first ace on the PGA Tour.

“As hole in ones go, I’ve had them in the past where it has been like an okay shot and you get a little lucky. That was the best shot of the day that I hit,” McIlroy said after his round. “Obviously a bonus for it to go in the hole, but it was really cool. I played pretty averagely up until that point. Felt like that hole in one got me going a little bit. Birdied the next couple holes after that and sort of got me into the tournament a bit.”

The 8th hole at TPC River Highlands is a 214-yard par 3. McIlroy hit a towering 5-iron, which landed on the green and rolled directly into the hole.

While McIlroy acknowledged the ace got him going a bit, he knows the bogeys need to be minimized if he’s going to have a chance to contend at a course which typically features ultra-low scoring.

“I don’t even know if I made five bogeys during the whole U.S. Open last week,” McIlroy said. “I just need to — I think I did, but I just need to tidy that up. Making five birdies and an eagle out there would be good enough to be in the Top 5. I just need to cut out the mistakes.”

A few more shots like that 5-iron will do just fine. And as for the hole-in-one ball?

“Threw it away,” McIlroy said.

Wait, what?

“I’m not sentimental. I don’t care. I’d rather have trophies than golf balls.”

McIlroy’s pursuit of this particular trophy will continue early Friday morning, where he’ll tee it up at 7:35 a.m. ET alongside Tom Kim and Viktor Hovland in Round 2.