For everyday golfers, holing out from long range is a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. Maybe. But for PGA Tour pros, finding the cup from long distance happens with some frequency. In fact, so far this year there have been 42 shots of 100 yards or longer that have dropped. Yep, these guys are really good. Here are the players with the five longest hole-outs, and the irons they use.
David Lingmerth
194 yards, Genesis Open, Round 3, 15th hole
The third round of this year’s Genesis Open wasn’t a banner day for David Lingmerth, who had four bogeys and a double on his card before playing his approach to the 489-yard 15th hole at Riviera Country Club. Lingmerth’s day got better, however, when he jarred his approach from 194 yards for an eagle 2, making it the longest hole-out so far this season on the PGA Tour. Lingmerth’s irons are Ping’s i25 model. The shafts are Ping’s ZZ65 with Cushin, stepped 1 stiff. The lofts on the clubs are ¼-degree strong—which was just the right amount on this shot.
Sean O'Hair
193 yards, Valspar Championship, Round 2, 6th hole
Sean O’Hair has had success at the Valspar Championship, having won in Tampa in 2008 (when it was called the PODS Championship) and losing to Jordan Spieth in a three-way playoff in 2015, which also included Patrick Reed. O’Hair was T-12 this year, aided by a 193-yard shot that found the cup on the 456-yard, par-4 sixth hole in the second round. O’Hair’s irons are Titleist's 718 T-MB model, a hollow-body construction iron. O'Hair's irons are equipped with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X-100 shafts.
Keegan Bradley
190 yards, Farmers Insurance Open, Round 2, 15th hole
Keegan Bradley was trying to play the final four holes of the Farmers Insurance Open in one under par. That goal changed rapidly after holing out from 190 yards for an eagle 2 on the 475-yard 15th. “I hit 5-iron,” said Bradley, who finished fifth in the event. “It was blowing in hard off the right and it bounced in front of the green and was rolling toward it. I actually thought it stopped and all of the sudden I looked up and it disappeared. Pretty incredible. I think it's the longest shot I've made in a tournament.” Bradley’s 5-iron was Srixon’s Z 745, a cavity-back blade.
HaoTong Li
190 yards, Genesis Open, Round 3, 6th hole
The par-3 sixth hole at Riviera is one of the most unique and interesting one-shotters in golf, with its donut-shaped bunker in the middle of the green giving players pause. Luckily for HaoTong Li during the third round of the Genesis Open, the hole was cut to the right of the bunker. That allowed Li to strike a TaylorMade P750 6-iron on the 190-yard hole and watch as it found the hole for an ace. Li, who was in the tournament on a sponsors exemption, posted an image on Twitter of the ball and his yardage book to commemorate the shot.
Peter Malnati
189 yards, Waste Management Phoenix Open, Round 2, 8th hole
Peter Malnati seems to have a knack for holing out shots from long distance. In fact, the 189-yard shot he canned on the 470-yard eighth hole of the second round at the Waste Management Phoenix Open marked the third consecutive year Malnati has had a hole-out of 150 yards or more—something most everyday players are lucky to do once. Malnati uses Titleist’s 718 AP2 irons. Although Malnati shot 68 that day, he unfortunately missed the cut, but left with a nice memory.
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