Club professional Frank Bensel Jr. amazingly made back-to-back holes-in-one during the second round of the US Senior Open, according to the USGA.
The tournament organisers posted an image of Bensel’s scorecard on social media which showed an ace on the 184-yard fourth hole and another on the 203-yard fifth at Newport Country Club.
According to the National Hole-in-One Registry, the odds of carding two aces in the same round are 67 million to 1. It does not provide odds for consecutive holes.
TRULY HISTORIC ‼️
Frank Bensel Jr. just made back-to-back aces in Round 2 of the U.S. Senior Open. pic.twitter.com/8dyOZbb1yc
— USGA (@USGA) June 28, 2024
No video was initially shown of either shot but the USGA followed up with a post showing Bensel, the long-time professional at Century Country Club in Purchase, New York, picking the ball out of one of the holes.
It is thought that the only other instance of a player making consecutive holes-in-one during a tournament occurred in even more remarkable circumstances during the 1971 Martini International at Royal Norwich.
John Hudson followed a hole-in-one at the 195-yard 11th with another ace at the par-four 12th, which measured 314 yards.
Hudson went on to finish tied ninth and earned £160 from the tournament’s total prize fund of £7,000.