Rory McIlroy has gone and made his first ever hole-in-one on the PGA Tour, after sinking his tee shot on the eighth hole of his first round at the Travelers Championship.
McIlroy went into the par 3, 214 yard hole on one over par, after making a birdie and two bogeys in his previous holes.
He very nearly holed out again from a fairway bunker on the ninth, leaving him with a tap-in birdie to go to two under par.
Shane Lowry teed off earlier and shot a superb round of 64, leaving him in a tie for second place on six under par, and two shots off leader Keegan Bradley.
Seamus Power finds himself on one under par after eight holes.
Rory McIlroy Makes A Sensational Return To The Golf Course At The Traveler's Championship
Not a bad way to bounce back from US Open disappointment.
HOLE-IN-ONE for Rory 🔥pic.twitter.com/OzBVBr35ix— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) June 22, 2023
Almost two hole-outs in a row for @McIlroyRory 👀 pic.twitter.com/eMn4DXLv1b
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 22, 2023
READ HERE: Padraig Harrington Explains How A Young Rory McIlroy Changed The Game Of Professional Golf
For McIlroy, making his first ever ace on tour will have been particularly sweet given last weekend's disappointment at the US Open, where he narrowly lost out to Wyndham Clark in a very similar fashion last year's Open Championship at St. Andrew's.
"The last real two chances I've had at majors I feel like have been pretty similar performances, like St Andrews last year and then here," said McIlroy after Sunday's loss.
"Not doing a lot wrong, but I didn't make a birdie since the first hole today. Just trying to be a little more, I guess, efficient with my opportunities and my looks.
"Again, overall when you're in contention going into the final round of a U.S. Open, I played the way I wanted to play. There was just a couple of shots, two or three shots over the course of the round that I'd like to have back."
SEE ALSO: Report: Rory McIlroy Made Interesting Gesture Towards Sergio Garcia At US Open
