It took seven years for someone to match Francesco Molinari’s ace on No. 16 at TPC Scottsdale — Sam Ryder did it on Saturday – but this time it only took 20 hours.
Carlos Ortiz, the 30-year-old Mexican, holed his second ace of the WM Phoenix Open weekend with a 9-iron from 178 yards — 54 yards more than Ryder’s due to Sunday’s pin location — and one again, 20,000 of golf’s rowdiest spectators let go of their beers from No. 16’s grandstand on Sunday.
After his round, Ortiz commented, “I honestly thought it was a little bit short.” “It was for this reason that I began walking.” That caught my attention, and I was astonished it made it in.
“I’m not sure what to say.” It was incredible. I was at a loss for words. There are a lot of people yelling for you, and then you start worrying about your head because I got hammered quite hard on the back with a beer can, and then I was just trying to avoid as many cans as possible.”
Ortiz, on the other hand, replied by tossing his prized ball into the stands, rather than retaining it as a souvenir like Ryder.
He explained, “They were throwing things at me, so I threw something back at them.”
Ortiz, on the other hand, did not stop there. He became the first player on Tour this year to make back-to-back eagles on the next hole, and the beer procession may have aided him in that achievement.
“I had enough time to cool down 15 minutes after my last shot since they had to clear the green of all the beer cans,” he explained.
Ortiz started his round on the back nine and rode his successive double circles to a final-round 67, but it wasn’t enough, as he ended outside the top 20 at 7 under.
Despite this, the world No. 69 contributed to the conclusion of a 25-year drought. It was the first occasion on No. 16 at TPC Scottsdale that two aces were recorded in the same week since 1997. In 1997, Steve Stricker made the tournament’s second hole-in-one, just one day after Tiger Woods’ famous shot.
Though it took 25 years for history to repeat itself on the 16th hole, Ryder, Ortiz, and the 40,000 spectators crowded into the coliseum’s grandstand provided the golf world with two unforgettable moments.
