OAKMONT, Pa. — France’s Victor Perez carded only the second recorded ace in a U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club on the par-3 sixth hole in Friday’s second round.
From 192 yards, Perez hit a 7-iron from the tee. His ball bounced three times before tracking about 3 feet into the cup. He raised his arms, then chest-bumped his caddie, James Erkenbeck, before high-fiving his playing partners, Jacob Bridgeman and Adam Schenk.
Scott Simpson made an ace on the 16th hole in the first round of the U.S. Open at Oakmont in 1983.
Victor Perez tips his cap to fans as he walks up to the seventh tee after making a hole-in-one on the sixth hole during the second round of the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club. AP Photo/Seth Wenig
“Obviously, a hole-in-one takes a little bit of luck,” Perez said after the round. “Honestly, I was trying to hit something maybe 15-20 feet past the hole, maybe it spun a little more and bounced in. I was a little fortunate, which I’ll definitely take.”
Perez told reporters that he believes it’s the ninth ace in his career — and the third this month. He made two at his home course in the Bahamas, but he was playing alone and no one witnessed them.
“They didn’t believe me at home because I was playing by myself,” Perez said. “Now, they’ll know.”
Perez, who played college golf at New Mexico, needed the ace to get back to 1 over. He started the day with that score but made a triple bogey on the par-5 12th, his third hole of the day. He hit his drive into a fairway bunker, needed four shots to get to the green and three-putted for an 8.
Perez rebounded with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 16 and 17, before making a bogey on No. 18 to make the turn at 2-over 37. After carding another bogey on the par-4 third, he sank a 5-footer for birdie on the fifth.
He finished 1 over after 36 holes.
Perez, ranked 99th in the world, has never made the cut in a U.S. Open. He missed the weekend in five consecutive starts in the major coming into this week.