Last week, at the DP World Tour School, on the third day of competition, Pablo Ereño stood on the tee of a short par four that could be reached in one with the driver, and in his attempt to ‘hit’ the green, he ended up with his ball in some bushes, apparently lost. Before trying to find it, he hit a provisional ball, with the luck, or bad luck, depending on how you look at it, that this time he did reach his target… to the point of it ending up in the hole. But we say bad luck because what could have been the first hole-in-one of his entire career came to nothing because, in the end, he found his first ball. The provisional no longer counted.
It was clear that karma owed the Madrid golfer one, and it didn’t take long to repay him. This Thursday, during the first round of the FedEx Open in France, in Paris, Pablo made his calculations, along with his caddie, on the par three of the 7th hole, about 140 metres, with three metres of elevation, which today had its flag on the left side of the green, near a bunker and with water both to the right and at the back, behind the path. He knew that with the pitching wedge he had more than enough distance, but the doubt was whether he could control the ball due to the spin…
Finally, he decided to hit a three-quarter 9-iron aiming at the centre of the green, and the result was simply unbeatable. The ball bounced two metres past the flag, but with the backspin, it went straight into the hole. From his position, he saw it go in perfectly and was able to celebrate, this time, his first hole-in-one. A great shot that came just after a birdie on the first par five of the course and was followed by another birdie right after. Four under in three holes and a memorable shot. Karma owed him one since last week, and good old Ereño has now collected it.
