Golfer achieves remarkable hole-in-one, qualifying for US Open's next round.
In a surprising turn of events, Molinari whipped out his seven-iron for the 194-yard par-three ninth, and his shot miraculously landed on the green's edge, careening all the way into the hole. He wobbled to the side, speechless, as he let out a sigh of disbelief.
"I mean, seriously? I don't have any idea what to say," the 41-year-old Italian confessed to reporters post-round. "Simply unbelievable."
His hole-in-one brought him to a 5-over-par score at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina, managing to make the cut at the last moment.
The 2018 Open Championship winner admitted that things seemed grim when he bogeyed the 8th, leaving him with a two-shot deficit for the final hole.
"I just bogeyed the 8th," he said. "I was hoping I could salvage a par on 8, and then needing to make two on 9. Given the pin, if you hit a solid shot, you have a chance at birdie, but when I dropped a shot at 8... Standing on the tee, I just thought, 'Let's swing hard and see what happens.'"
His fellow players, Min Woo Lee and Sergio Garcia, shared in the celebration as Molinari secured his second cut out of eight tournaments this year.
"Sergio was walking in front of me, and he started gesturing wildly when the ball was still five meters from the hole, and I wanted to shout, 'Hey, watch it, don't jinx me!'" Molinari reminisced to Sky Sports.
"I haven't been making many cuts recently, just missing out week after week," he added. "So it's good to finally catch a break. I'm hoping this is the beginning of a winning streak."
The 9th hole brought good fortune for Austria's Sepp Straka as well, as he scored his first ace on the PGA Tour, also making the cut with a score of 2-over.
Molinari hit the links for the third round at 8:55 a.m. ET on Saturday.
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Molinari's remarkable hole-in-one on the 9th hole wasn't just a one-off incident for him, as he mentioned his hopes for a winning streak following this achievement.
Given his recent struggles to make cuts, the victory at the US Open's qualifying round was a much-needed boost for Molinari's confidence on the golf course.
