Francesco Molinari stood on the par-4 9th hole—his 18th of the day—at 7-over par. With the cut-line sitting at 5-over, he needed a hole-in-one to make the cut on the number.
The request was impossible, and yet Molinari delivered the improbable. He made an ace with a 7-iron, thus earning a third-round tee time at the U.S. Open for the first time since 2021.
“I think from where we were standing, it looked like it just carried the bunker, plus the greens are getting firm, so it was the ideal shot,” Molinari explained after.
“Then it started tracking, was going to break left to right at the hole, and we were joking with Sergio Garcia about how it looked and on a great line the whole way, but what are the chances really. I don’t even know what to say. Just incredible.”
Molinari struggled to process what had transpired after his 2-over 72.
“I just bogeyed 8. I was hoping I could par the 8th and then have to make two at 9,” Molinari said.
“With that flag, if you hit a good shot, you can get it within birdie range, but when I dropped a shot at 8, and then yes, standing on the 9th tee, it was just put a good swing on it and see what happens. But the chances are incredibly small, so I don’t know what to say.”
Molinari has had his fair share of incredible hole-in-ones.
He aced the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale one year. He also made a hole-in-one at Bay Hill, when he won there in 2019, per golf statistician Justin Ray.
But on Friday, he made the greatest ace of his life—when he needed it most.
“It was the last chance to have a chance to play the weekend,” Molinari added.
“That’s golf in a nutshell.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.