Eddie Pepperell’s fabulous hole-in-one on the par-3 ninth at Walton Heath stole the show on a windy opening day of the British Masters.
A well-liked figure on the tour for his affiliation towards dry humour and bolder red wine, the 27-year-old’s tee-shot pitched just shy of the hole before clattering into the stem of the flag and ricocheting back from where the spin propelled it into the hole with all the speed of a crashing dodgem.
And the Oxfordshire-born golfer, along with Sky’s on-course reporter, were rather miffed about what had actually happened up ahead.
"It was a bizarre shot from where I was standing," he said.
"It looked like it pitched in the hole, jumped up and looked like it was going long because of the height it came out, and obviously went in.
Pepperell also found the cup on the par-3 seventeenth, however, it was the drinks holder of a parked buggy rather than the hole.
“Luckily it didn't go in the beer in the other cup holder because it would have ruined a drink and the golf ball,” he said afterwards.
The hole-in-one secured £10,000 for the European Tour’s charity of the year, Cancer Research, and the same amount for Pepperell's chosen charity of choice, Helen And Douglas.
It came amidst a great streak of holes for the Englishman which saw him temporarily take the outright lead after a six-under-par spell through five holes at the turn. Two bogies pegged him back but a birdie at the last ensured he shared the overnight lead with compatriots Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Wallace.
It's not the first time Pepperell has showed great form on this Surrey track overshadowed by the Epsom Derby racecourse after winning a US Open qualifier here in 2013.
