Shane Lowry makes hole-in-one at island 17th hole

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Ireland’s Shane Lowry made a hole-in-one from 124 yards at the 17th hole in the third round of THE PLAYERS Championship on Sunday night.

He used a pitching wedge, and the ball landed 10 feet past the front pin before backing up, clanking into the flagstick and dropping. Lowry screamed and celebrated with playing partner and Ryder Cup teammate Ian Poulter as the crowd around the iconic island par 3 went wild.

It was the 10th hole-in-one all-time on 17, and the first since Ryan Moore aced the hole in the first round of the 2019 PLAYERS. It was the second ace on the PGA TOUR for Lowry, who also made a hole-in-one at the 2016 Masters. He picked the ball out of the hole and threw it into the crowd, later signing it for a lucky fan.

The winner of the 2019 Open Championship, Lowry came into the third round at 1 under par. He had bogeyed the par-5 11th hole and birdied the 14th and 16th holes before his fateful swing on 17. The hole-in-one moved him to 4 under par for the tournament, four off the lead as players began the third round.

The ace was a far cry from the action on 17 on Saturday, when a stiff headwind gave players fits and led to a succession of water balls that doomed the chances of Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa and others.

Lowry, a two-time TOUR winner, finished second at The Honda Classic last month.