It only took him 43 years, but Australian golfer Richard Green finally achieved the first albatross of his career.
At the Victorian Open's pro-am event on Wednesday, Green took a driver off the 15th tee. The stroke, which physics determined should land in the bunker, was altered en route, ricocheting out of the sand, onto the green and into the hole.
Stunned by what he'd just achieved, Green spoke to the press following the event.
"I noticed the tee was up from where we played it last year," he said (via ABC). "I thought it was a good opportunity to get up near the green and contend for birdies during the week. I thought I would hit a driver and see what happens. I just pushed it a little bit. It was a good shot, but I knew it was going in the bunker, so I was completely oblivious to the fact that it had made its way to the hole somehow."
Green won three European Tours (1997, 2007, 2010) and finished in the top five of The Open Championship (2007). Now, the 43-year-old can add another personal achievement to his mantle, albeit an insignificant one.
"I haven't had anything like that happen before. I have had hole-in-ones during tournaments, but they have been shots that have landed by the hole and found their way in," he added. "They were fantastic moments, but an albatross, I have never come close."
"They are something that may never happen to someone in their career as a Professional, so to have one in even in a pro-am was very special."
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