2 hole-in-ones in one tournament!

TWO Stockton-on-Tees golfers each  aced Eaglescliffe’s 13th hole during the same competition.

Philip Moore, 31, and Kevin Donald, 47 – both members at Eaglescliffe GC – made it a day to remember in the clubhouse, after they  holed their tee shots on the 179-yard, par-three hole.

The double ace came during a midweek Stableford competition and, further adding to the day’s uncanniness, the pair of amateurs later learned that they had even parked next to each other before the competition.

Moore, a production technician, was first to hit the target, achieving the feat with his eight-iron.

The seven-handicapper, who has been playing golf for 31 years, said: “I hit a perfectly struck shot which landed on the front of the green and rolled towards the back-right flag.

“When the ball was about 15 feet away from the pin, I said to my playing partners: ‘that’s going to go in the hole’. It continued rolling on a perfect line like a beautifully struck putt and, sure enough, went in the hole.”

But, later that evening, Moore received a text message from his best friend and regular playing partner – who happened to be playing with Donald – revealing his remarkable feat had been equalled.

Moore added: “At first, I thought it was a wind up, but, sure enough, when I checked the results, I soon learned that Kevin had, indeed, achieved the same feat as me. It was a pleasure and a great honour to share my first hole-in-one with a friend and fellow member.”

Donald, a drayman who plays off 14, said: “I had heard of Phil’s hole-in-one earlier in the day, before I teed off, and just hoped one day maybe I could also manage the same feat – it happened a lot sooner than I thought.

“On the 13th tee, after my playing partners and I shared a little joke about the hole, I pulled my rescue club from the bag and struck it well, if not a little left. The ball landed just off the left-hand side of the green, but caught the slope and kicked towards the flag.

“From there, the ball started tracking straight towards the hole and, before I knew it, it was in. I couldn’t believe it and my playing partners were going mad, jumping up and down.

“It was one of the best feelings in the world to see my ball disappear in the hole. I just remember thinking: ‘the members back at the clubhouse aren’t going to believe this’.”