Francesco Molinari provided one of the U.S. Open’s greatest highlights on Friday, hitting a hole-in-one on the par-three ninth hole, his last of the day. The hole-in-one came after some foreshadowing from analyst Brad Faxon.
Molinari didn’t just hit a hole-in-one on his final hole of the day. Before his ace, Molinari was at seven-over, two shots off of the cutline. With Molinari playing late in the day, it was clear that the cutline would not move. So, as Molinari was preparing to tee off, announcer Mike Tirico noted that Molinari was “gonna miss the cut.”
But before Molinari struck the ball, Faxon made one amendment to Tirico’s declaration — “Unless he pulls a Sepp Straka,” referencing an ace that Straka made earlier in the day on the same hole. Molinari’s tee shot was struck well but didn’t instantly look like it would be a potential hole-in-one. But once it got to the green, things changed.
“Oh, it got a good bounce,” Faxon said. The ball then began rolling to toward the hole, with Faxon realizing it had a chance. “Look at this. Look at this.”
Francesco Molinari makes this unbelievable hole-in-one to get to +5, the projected cut line on his final hole of the day!🔥pic.twitter.com/zs4huYwl1Q
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) June 14, 2024
As the ball continued to move toward the hole, Tirico, realizing what might happen, said, “This is a pretty good call, Fax.” Shortly thereafter, the ball dropped.
That ace helped Molinari make the cut, on the number. We can only imagine that he hopes Faxon has commentary immediately before the rest of his tournament.
[Photo Credit: Screengrab, Golf Channel on X]
