Best par save ever? After two in water, Bae holes out from 250 yards
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Written by Mike McAllister
Tony Finau sinks a 21-foot birdie on No. 3 in Round 1 at 3M Open
Two-time PGA TOUR winner Sangmoon Bae took three swings at the par-5 18th in Thursday’s first round of the 3M Open.
Two of his shots found the water.
He holed the third one from 250 yards … for par.
Consider it one of the greatest par saves in the history of golf. Certainly no player in the ShotLink Era (since 2003) has ever holed a longer shot for par on the PGA TOUR. The previous longest par save was by Steven Bowditch at the 2011 RBC Heritage, as he holed out from 176 yards on the fourth hole in the opening round.
Fred Couples had a memorable par save in the first round of THE PLAYERS Championship in 1999 when he found the water with his tee shot at the island-green 17th at TPC Sawgrass, then holed out after he re-teed.
But that shot was more than 100 yards shorter than Bae’s hole-out with a hybrid at TPC Twin Cities.
Bae’s initial tee shot at the 599-yard 18th found the water running along the right side of the fairway. He then took his drop, leaving him with a third shot 249 yards to the pin – all across water on the dogleg-right hole.
That third shot also found the water, 63 feet short of the green. So Bae then dropped again from his same spot, now 250 yards away for his fifth shot … and proceeded to find the bottom of the cup to close out his round of 4-over 75.
It was a water-filled day for the 34-year-old from South Korea, as he also found the water with his tee shot at the par-4 seventh (bogey) and his second shot at the par-4 ninth (triple bogey).
Longest hole-outs for par (ShotLink Era)
| Player | Event | Round | Hole | Yardage |
| Sangmoon Bae | 2020 3M Open | 1 | 18 | 250 |
| Steven Bowditch | 2011 RBC Heritage | 1 | 4 | 176 |
| Patrick Sheehan | 2006 Travelers | 2 | 17 | 164 |
| John Senden | 2006 Arnold Palmer Invt. | 1 | 18 | 145 |
| Tony Finau | 2015 Arnold Palmer Invt. | 1 | 11 | 142 |
