A fortnight ago, Kristoffer Reitan was not a name known to most casual golf fans. After a win at Quail Hollow last week and what we just witnessed on the par-4 13th hole at Aronimink on Saturday, however, the 28-year-old Norwegian is becoming a household name in record time. Take it away, Kris (can we call you Kris?).
https://twitter.com/PGAChampionship/status/2055681152954843356
Unbelievable stuff. The only thing that stood between the Truist Championship winner and golf immortality was the width of the flagstick on the 267-metre (292-yard) par-4. Them’s the breaks when you play this game, but there’s not a soul among us, including Reitan, who wouldn’t have loved to see this find the bottom of the cup.
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Not only would the ace have been an all-time PGA Championship highlight, it would have stood as a piece of golf history. There has only been one par-4 hole-in-one on the PGA Tour, when Andrew Magee sent the green on 304-metre (332-yard) 17th hole at 2001 Waste Management Phoenix Open. Magee didn’t think he had the power to drive the putting surface, where the group ahead was still finishing up, but he was proven gloriously wrong as his drive caromed off Tom Byrum’s putter and into the cup. Reitan’s near-ace would have been just the second of its kind on the PGA Tour and the first ever in major championship history.
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If Magee’s ace came with a big asterisk, Reitan’s surely would have garnered a few raised eyebrows after the PGA of America moved the 13th tee markers up about 90 paces for the third round. Mercifully we won’t have to debate that, but for the highlight and history alone, it would have been worth it.
