U.S. Open 2024: Golf gods pay Sepp Straka back for bad break with hole-in-one

They say your good and bad breaks on a golf course will even out over time. For Sepp Straka, that happened in a matter of a few holes on Friday at the U.S. Open.

The two-time PGA Tour winner got one of the worst breaks you’ll ever see on No. 3 when his approach shot ricocheted off the flagstick and into a bunker leading to a triple bogey. But apparently, the golf gods felt so bad about that result that they made up for it less than a couple hours later.

On the par-3 ninth, once again, Straka hit an iron right at the flagstick. But this time, his ball rattled off the pin from 194 yards and dropped for a hole-in-one. See for yourself:

Talk about a rollercoaster of a front nine. Even the tournament’s tweet mentioned Straka’s previous bad break.

It’s the third ace at No. 9 during a Pinehurst U.S. Open as Straka joined Peter Jacobsen in 2005 and Zach Johnson in 2014. It’s also, technically, the first hole-in-one of Straka’s PGA Tour career, although he has others, including an ace on Augusta National’s iconic 12th hole during a 2023 Masters practice round.

And what a great reaction by Straka and his playing partners. (Hey, I can now expertly comment on such matters since I made my first ace (NBD) earlier this week at a former U.S. Open venue. Although, it wasn’t from 194 yards. In an actual U.S. Open.)

Anyway, congrats to Sepp. And for this soda-loving golfer, let the celebratory Diet Cokes flow in the Pinehurst clubhouse.