Rory McIlroy confirmed he threw the ball he made his first ever PGA Tour hole-in-one with away, saying “I’d rather have trophies than golf balls.”
McIlroy scored his first ace on the PGA Tour when he holed out from 214 yards at the par 3 eighth hole in the first round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands.
It’s the second hole-in-one in professional tournament golf for McIlroy after bagging one at the 2015 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on the DP World Tour.
Despite the historic moment, though, the World No.3 was not keeping the ball he used as a memento, confirming after his round that he “threw it away.”
“I'm not sentimental,” said McIlroy. “I don't care. I'd rather have trophies than golf balls.”
McIlroy said the hole-in-one was a bonus and helped boost his round after making the long journey from Los Angeles to Connecticut following his US Open disappointment.
“As holes-in-one go, I've had them in the past where it has been like an okay shot and you get a little lucky,” said McIlroy. “That was the best shot of the day that I hit.
“Obviously a bonus for it to go in the hole, but it was really cool. I played pretty averagely up until that point. Felt like that hole in one got me going a little bit. Birdied the next couple holes after that and sort of got me into the tournament a bit.”
🚨RORY MCILROY HOLE-IN-ONE!! 🚨pic.twitter.com/xHU3VVhVrHJune 22, 2023
McIlroy had a mixed bag of a round with his hole-in-one accompanied by four birdies and five bogeys in a two-under round of 68.
“Hole-in-one and great shots, and I also made five bogeys, which was the sloppy bit of the day,” McIlroy summed his day up as.
“I feel like I didn't - I don't even know if I made five bogeys during the whole U.S. Open last week. I just need to - I think I did, but I just need to tidy that up.
“Making five birdies and an eagle out there would be good enough to be in the Top 5. I just need to cut out the mistakes.”
