The Golfer Who Aced a Par-4 But Didn't Get a Hole-in-One
At that time, and still as of this writing, there had been only one ace on a par-4 hole in PGA Tour history. That lone par-4 ace happened during the 2001 Phoenix Open, by Andrew Magee.
So when Baddeley teed up a ball on the par-4, 336-yard 17th at the 2015 Texas Open and then knocked that ball into the cup, he became the second PGA Tour to ace a par-4. Right? Wrong.
Here's why: The teed ball that Baddely drove the green with, and that rolled right into the hole after hitting the green, was the second ball he played on the hole. His first attempt at a drive on the hole flew way left, into some trees, and he decided to take the penalty for an unplayable ball.
Once he saw the predicament his first ball was in, and decided to take an unplayable, he walked back to the teeing area and teed up a second ball.
And it was that second ball that Baddeley knocked right into the cup. Imagine doing something only one other person in tour history has done — hole out a drive on a par-4 — but you don't even get credit for it.
So if Baddeley's shot did not result in a hole-in-one, what was it? Since his first stroke resulted in an unplayable, his second drive was his third stroke. (His first drive was obviously his first stroke, the second stroke was for the penalty.) When Baddeley holed out that second drive, therefore, it wasn't a hole-in-one, it was a birdie 3. Surely one of the most remarkable birdies in PGA Tour history.
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