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What Is the Longest Hole-in-One in PGA Tour History and Who Made It?
Writing professionally since 2015, Jack Dougherty spent six years as a sportswriter with publications such as GoPSUSports.com, the Centre Daily Times, and the Associated Press before joining Sportscasting in 2020. He covers the NBA, the NFL, and the world of golf extensively and has added expertise on any team located in or around his hometown of Philadelphia. Yes, that includes the Philadelphia Eagles, the Philadelphia 76ers, and Philadelphia Phillies. When Jack isn't writing about sports, he's watching them or playing them as he regularly heads to the gym for some pickup basketball or the golf course to hit the links. He's also an avid participant in the sports betting scene who worked at a casino sportsbook for a year and learned the ins and outs of the industry before bringing his expertise to Sportscasting with one excellent gambling recommendation after another.
Get to know Jack Dougherty betterPublished16 Apr 2020
The National Hole-in-One Registry says the average golfer has a 12,000-1 chance at making an ace. For PGA Tour pros, that dips to 3,000-1. It’s still an improbable occurrence, but hole-in-ones happen almost weekly on Tour. Last season, there were 36 aces made. You see hole-in-one highlights all the time on SportsCenter, but have you ever wondered what the longest ace in PGA Tour history is? The answer is longer than you could probably ever hit a golf ball.
Who has the most holes-in-one in PGA Tour history?
Tiger Woods might be the greatest golfer ever, but he isn’t even close to the best hole-in-one artist. Woods has made three aces in his professional career, but his first unofficial ace came from when he was just six years old.
Phil Mickelson actually has five aces in his career. He’s close to the top of the list, but he’s not the all-time leader. That title belongs to two men: Robert Allenby and Hal Sutton. They both recorded 10 holes-in-one on the PGA Tour. Not too shabby, but neither of them holds the record for the longest ace.
The longest hole-in-one wasn’t even made on a par-3
The longest hole-in-one in PGA Tour history came from Andrew Magee in 2001. It was historic for two reasons. One because it set the record for the longest hole-in-one, and two because it didn’t even happen on a par-3.
That’s right. Magee made the first and only hole-in-one on a par-4 in Tour history.
The iconic hole-in-one occurred on the 17th hole at TPC Scottsdale. Magee, still angry from a double-bogey on the previous hole, teed his ball up and let it rip before the group in front even left the green. He didn’t think he could reach the hole, but his anger must’ve given him superstrength.
The ball didn’t just reach the green. It rolled into the group ahead, bounced off one of their putters and redirected right into the hole. Ace! 332 yards on a par-4. Still the longest hole-in-one in Tour history and the only ace on a par-4 to this day.
Most amateur players can only dream of hitting a golf ball 332 yards. Magee did it and made a hole-in-one in the process.
Has there ever been an ace on a par-5?
Although no one in PGA Tour history has ever recorded an ace on a par-5, there have actually been five records of par-5 holes-in-one. And no, none of them were from Happy Gilmore.
The first “condor” occurred in 1962 off the club of Larry Bruce. On a 480-yard par-5 at Hope Country Club in Arkansas, Bruce cut the sharp dogleg and actually made a hole-in-one.
Jack Bartlett did the same in 2007 on the 17th hole at Royal Wentworth Falls C.C. in Australia. He cut the dogleg of the 511-yard hole and dropped his drive in the hole.
Maybe the most impressive ace in golf history came from Shaun Lynch in 1995. He made one on the 496-yard par-5 at Teign Valley G.C. in Christow, England, but that wasn’t the impressive part. Lynch didn’t even use a driver for the ace. He made his hole-in-one with a 3-iron.
The longest recorded hole-in-one in golf history comes from a man named Mike Crean. In 2002, Crean made an ace on the 517-yard ninth hole at Green Valley Ranch G.C. in Colorado. The thin air definitely helped Crean reach the hole, but it’s still impressive nonetheless.
