During sponsor day festivities leading up to the 34th annual city championship, a golfer recorded a hole-in-one on the first hole.
And oh by the way – that would be a 325-yard par-4.
“That was quite a start,” said Steve High, Director of Golf for the city of High Point. “It didn’t take long for the stories to filter all around the golf course.”
The feat was accomplished by Bradley Gibson, who was playing in the Jones & Peacock Insurance foursome with Jason Boger, Daniel Allen and George Ragsdale.
The first hole is short enough that most long hitters try to bomb a drive through the trees that guard the green. That’s especially the case in a captain’s choice event, where three other tee shots could be used if needed. As the foursome left the tee box, three of the four balls were located. The fourth remained a mystery.
High said the team was about to give up and play its other best ball when someone happened to glance in the hole and saw a ball. A course worker witnessed the ball being pulled from the hole, and sure enough, it belonged to Gibson.
The ball had several marks on it from an apparent high hop off the cart path that helped send it on its way to the cup.
According to research by “Golf World” magazine, the odds of hitting a double-eagle – also known as an albatross – are about a million-to-one, while aces on a par-3 are about 13,000-to-one. The article showed that from 1983 to 2003 on the PGA Tour, there were 631 aces – and just 56 double-eagles.
Remarkably, the Jones & Peacock foursome went on to win the 19-team event by one shot, shooting a 58 – so that “1” came in mighty handy.
Friday’s festivities were for companies that raise money as hole sponsors and other tournament programs to benefit High Point Regional Health System’s Heart Strides Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehab Program. Bud Kivett was a renowned local golfer who died in the 1970s from heart failure, and the city championship has been named in his memory for decades.
The two-round tournament tees off today from Blair Park with about 140 players, among the smallest fields in years. High said anyone interested in playing can arrive at Blair Park prior to the first 7:52 a.m. tee time and “we’ll find them a spot to play.”
Registration for the event costs $35. The tournament concludes Sunday at Oak Hollow.
shanf@hpe.com | 888-3526
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