Near Misses
DP World Tour pro gets robbed of ace in brutal fashion … but there is a silver lining
Close is for horseshoes and hand grenades. Unfortunately, it doesn’t apply to hole-in-ones. Those are all or nothing. They go in or they don’t. But don’t take our word for it, just ask Finnish DP World Tour pro Tapio Pulkkanen, who got robbed in broad daylight at the Joburg Open on Friday when his tee shot on the par-3 9th did just about everything but find the bottom of the cup. Check it out.
We’ve shared plenty of hole-in-one almosts and maybes on this site over the years, but this is one of the most unjust examples yet. For one agonizing, slow-motion moment, as Pulkkanen’s ball spun back and struck the flagstick square, it almost seemed more unlikely for it NOT to go in. Unfortunately, the ever-fickle golf gods had other plans.
There is a faint silver lining, however. The Joburg Open’s one-million-rand prize (close to $55,000 USD) for making a hole-in-one on the 9th hole is only valid Saturday and Sunday at Houghton Golf Club. Make no mistake, we’d all take an ace prize or no prize, but in a strange way, Pulkkanen’s near miss might have spared him even greater pain.