Justin Rose Achieves Historic Hole-in-One in Olympic Golf

Justin Rose made history on Thursday, too—the first hole-in-one in modern Olympic golf history. The defending Masters champion was flashing some amazing touch while playing his first round at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Collectively, I would say he made his golfing talent evident on the world’s biggest stage.

Playing with other Olympians and competitors Rickie Fowler and Jhonattan Vegas, Rose’s ace came on the 189-yard par-3 fourth hole. He was planning to hit an 8-iron. Nonother than his caddie, The Mark “Fooch” Fulcher, gave him a crucial tip – use a 7-iron instead. This proved to be the fateful decision as Rose made the shot electronically, though he himself did not have the visual confirmation of seeing the ball go through.

I was prepared to lay up with my 8-iron,” Rose admitted. My caddie recommended the 7-iron, so I figured I’d listen to him for once.

Rose’s magnificent display didn’t stop with the hole-in-one. He did play holes 3, 4 and 5 exceptionally well with a 4 under par performance. Earlier in the day, he made an eagle on the notoriously difficult 189-yard hole-in-one hole. His early scoring propelled him to 3 under. He wrapped up his opening day at 4 under, leaving him tied for fourth place overall.

Though he played well, Rose hit a wall late in the round, dropping two bogeys on his last five holes. He would finish the day behind Marcus Fraser, who made a big move up the leaderboard with a monster performance of 8-under 63.

That was really awesome moment for sure,” said Rose, looking back on his historic performance.

With a close leaderboard, as he studied the competition Rose looked at the strengthened tight end class. “Just check out the leaderboard, so many loads are in the running,” he said, looking forward to an exciting tournament with strong competition.

Currently ranked 12th in the world, Justin Rose continues to demonstrate why he is one of the standout players in golf today. His hole-in-one serves as another feather in his cap, and it represents a massive moment in Olympic golf history.