PGA TourBrian KeoghAT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Shane Lowry, Rory McIlroyComment

Lowry and McIlroy makes it double hole in one delight for the Irish in AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

PGA TourBrian KeoghAT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Shane Lowry, Rory McIlroyComment
Lowry and McIlroy makes it double hole in one delight for the Irish in AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

Shane Lowry stole some of Rory McIlroy’s thunder when he followed the Holywood star’s lead and made a hole-in-one in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

The Offaly man is no stranger to holes in one having famously aced the 16th at the Masters and the “island” green 17th at TPC Sawgrass.

McIlroy grabbed the glory early in the day at Spyglass Hill when he holed a three-quarter sand wedge on the fly at the 119-yard 15th (his sixth) en route to a bogey-free 66 that left him just two shots behind early leader Russell Henley, who shot 64 at Spyglass Hill.

But Lowry soon got in on the act at Pebble Beach’s iconic seventh.

The Offaly man started on the back nine and was four-under through the turn before he birdied the third and followed a bogey at the short fifth with an ace at the sixth with a 54-degree wedge.

His ball landed short left of the pin, pitched to the right and dropped into the hole, prompting a celebratory chest bump with one of his playing partners.

McIlroy ace was no fluke as he confessed he’s been working hard on his  short irons and his and mental game as he aims for Masters glory in April.

The world number three was ranked 115th from between 125 and 150 yards last year but he fired a warning shot across the bows of his rivals when he flew a 119-yard sand wedge straight into the hole on the sixth at Spyglass Hill for just his second hole-in-one on the PGA Tour career.

“It was a nice yardage for just a three-quarter sand wedge,” said McIlroy, who mixed two three-putt par-fives with a birdie two at the 12th before his ace at the 13th, then birdied three of his last four holes, almost holing out on the fly again from 135 yards at the ninth.

"And, yeah, hit a good one. Started online. And think, because the hole's so elevated, it's in the air, and you don't know whether to say go or sit or whatever.

“Then it disappeared straight into the hole, which is really cool. First time I ever had a hole-in-one where it went straight in like that.

"That was a nice way to sort of makeup for a couple of mistakes on the par fives on that nine. And you know, it was nice to be able to play some good golf from there, on in and shoot a good score.”

As for his work on his wedges, and that closing birdie, McIlroy explained he’d been working on taking dead aim inside 150 yards after taking through his game with mental coach Dr Bob Rotella.

“It was a perfect number for a gap wedge,” McIlroy said. "For me it was 135, adjusted, and I could just go ahead and just make a good swing at it,“ he said of his closing birdie from 18 inches.

"I know Rotella and I talk about this a lot. If I drive the ball, well, I'm going to have about 50 shots a week from inside 150 yards. S  we just talk about taking dead aim.

“If you're swinging, okay, the ball is not going to curve much from from that distance. So we talk a lot about taking dead aim and making the most of those tee shots that I hit that I get myself into that range.

“In the past, I haven't been as confident with the wedges from that distance, and I would play a little right or left of the pins and be a little more careful with my aim points.

“Whereas now, if I'm feeling confident with my wedge swings and where I'm at with that, you know. It’s easier for me to take dead aim and try to hit it as close as possible.”