Jon Rahm celebrated his 26th birthday in remarkable fashion with a hole-in-one during practice ahead of this week’s Masters.
It has become a tradition for players to attempt to skim a ball across the pond in front of the par-three 16th at Augusta National during pre-tournament practice rounds.
And Rahm pulled off the shot so well that his ball not only found the green, but ran up to the back of the putting surface and curled around perfectly into the hole.
From pond to pin! Rahm skips to a hole-in-one on No. 16 at #themasters pic.twitter.com/JNNPWgW9OP
— The Masters (@TheMasters) November 10, 2020
He also sank an ace on the fourth during practice on Monday, a moment captured on video by American hopeful Rickie Fowler.
Rahm had earlier spoken about what it would mean to become the fourth Spanish winner after Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio Garcia.
“It would mean a lot,” said the world number two, who has finished in the top 10 in each of his last two Masters appearances.
“Needless to say, it’s a special event for everybody who comes and competes at the Masters, and I would say there’s such Spanish history of champions here, with three great champions and three idols of mine, that I would love to be able to add my name to that list.
“And especially this year, being a little bit sad that Sergio is not going to be able to be part of this. My heart goes out to him. I know he had some bad times with COVID, losing family members, and now he’s got it as well.
“And just the history, right. I think this is the 40th anniversary of Seve’s first win here at Augusta. You have Ollie, five green jackets go out to Spain, hopefully I can be the sixth.”