Defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick, eventually, celebrates shooting tournament’s third hole-in-one.
Stone-faced and walking, it was an unusually muted reaction from a golfer who had just shot the first hole-in-one of his PGA Tour career and the 51st in US Open history.
Then Matt Fitzpatrick, the defending champion, realized and quickly made up for lost time.
The Englishman knocked in the third ace of the 123rd edition of the major during the second round on Friday, and it was once again Los Angeles Country Club’s 15th hole that provided the goods.
France’s Matthieu Pavon and American Sam Burns had similarly celebrated the first aces of their PGA Tour careers from the 124-yard par-three tee on Thursday, though Fitzpatrick found himself tackling an even shorter hole after pin locations were changed for the second round.
Having started from the 10th hole, Fitzpatrick shot five consecutive pars before arriving at the adjusted 115-yard 15th hole. Yet despite the change in flag position, the third ace of the tournament looked eerily similar to the previous two, catching the incline beyond the hole before rolling back down and into the cup.
Not that Fitzpatrick saw. With the hole hidden behind a slope, it took the noise of the onlooking crowds for the world No. 8 to start his celebrations. Roaring in delight, the reigning champion high-fived playing partners Cameron Smith and Sam Bennett before heading down the fairway to collect his ball, beaming all the way.
“As soon as I hit it I thought that it’s got a good chance of going close,” Fitzpatrick told reporters.
“My hand was a bit sore afterward, I’ll be honest, after all the high fiving.”
After an opening round of unprecedented low scoring, just one more ace this week will match the record number of hole-in-ones shot at a US Open, set at Oak Hill Country Club in 1989.
The quartet of Doug Weaver, Mark Wiebe, Jerry Pate and Nick Price navigated the 159-yard 6th hole in one swing, and all during the second round.
Fitzpatrick is bidding to become the first player to defend the major since Brooks Koepka in 2018, having clinched his first major title in thrilling fashion in Massachusetts a year ago.
The Sheffield-born golfer edged American duo Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris by a single stroke following a pulsating three-way fight in the final round, and triumphed at the RBC Heritage in April to add his second PGA Tour title.
Yet any hopes of a successful defense look slim following another overall frustrating day for Fitzpatrick. After his opening round one-over 71 left him nine shots adrift of record-breaking leading duo Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele, he shot a second round 70 to fall further behind those at the top.
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