My hole-in-one seen ‘round the world, an epic live TV fail and Scottie Scheffler wins again

Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we are happy to report that we are not cursed when it comes to making a hole-in-one. That’s right. It happened, folks. And I even got it on camera! Do you believe in miracles?!

It’s real. And it’s spectacular. And, yes, that’s Carlos Boozer and ESPN’s Sean Farnham. And, yes, that’s the Michael Block hole, No. 15 at Oak Hill. And, yes, he even sent me a congratulatory message:

I still can’t believe it. Any of it. What’s the word? Oh, right, SURREAL. Anyway, this nuttiness all happened at the American Cancer Society Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, so a huge shout-out to those organizations for inviting me and for all that they do. Now let me address three things that I keep getting asked/mocked about.

1.) It was an 8-iron from 135, but playing 150+ with wind (I swear!).

2.) We filmed it because I declared it an “Ace Hole” while walking to the tee and that I would video everyone. I’ve done that before to much different results.

3.) Yes, that was a Phil Mickelson-esque vertical. But in my defense, I had knee surgery about three months ago! OK, there’s more to come on this long-awaited first ace, but now it’s time to talk about what else is happening in golf in a special edition of The Grind. At least, a little bit.

Scottie Scheffler: He won again. Yay. At the Memorial.

The World No. 1 is just on another level right now. We get it.

Linnea Strom: Unreal comeback by the Swede, who began Sunday tied for last place (52nd) but won her first LPGA title after shooting a final-round 60!

She didn’t make an ace, but that’s mighty impressive.

Making a hole-in-one: OK, back to me! It took about 30 years of playing golf, but this one was WELL worth the wait. Doing it on a famous hole at a historic track and being able to perfectly see it (even with my bad eyes) go into the cup? It doesn’t get much better than that. Only, it does, because of the group we had. Not only Carlos and Sean, but my longtime colleague and friend Steve Hennessey, who did one helluva job capturing it on video and not dropping the phone. Then Carlos and Sean took over, covering the moment like it was a major championship:

How cool is golf? Steve and I had met those guys less than 24 hours before and we already felt like best buds. What an amazing game that brings people together—even Duke and Wake guys like Carlos and me!—while bringing so much joy to so many. When we hear all the PGA Tour vs. LIV noise, it’s important to remember that. And special thanks to Sean for working his magic and helping me make ESPN SportsCenter!

Unbelievable. So I checked off two bucket-list items in one day! They also put it No. 10 on the SportsCenter Top 10! And because there was already an open bar at the event, I didn’t even have to buy drinks! Literally a perfect storm! Although Roy Williams says I owe him an ice-cream sundae with walnuts. You got it, coach. Anyway, thanks again to everyone involved for making a memorable moment even more special.

Betting on golf in the Scottie Scheffler Era: You can’t bet on him because his odds are just stupid, but you can’t bet against him because you just lose. It’s quite a conundrum!

Jon Rahm’s year: No wins on LIV, two disappointing major finishes and now an infected foot that caused him to WD the week before the U.S. Open. Rough.

Sebastian Soderberg: This poor guy blew an EIGHT-shot lead at DP World Tour’s Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed, capped by this short miss on the final hole:

Absolutely brutal. OK, back to happier things. Did I mention I made a hole-in-one?

It’s U.S. Open week! Cue up “In Celebration of Man!”

It was actually at Pinehurst in 2014 when I got the great Yanni on the phone to talk about this legendary theme song. It was also at Pinehurst in 2008 where I won my first (of five) HGGA green jackets. So, yeah, it’s a special place. Not as special as Oak Hill, of course. But special. And to preview the U.S. Open, we had defending champion Wyndham Clark’s caddie, John Ellis, on this week’s episode of The Loop podcast.

We also had Carlos Boozer and Sean Farnham on to talk about my ace. From the Oak Hill clubhouse. Wild.

Random tournament fact: Not only did Michael Campbell win the 2005 U.S. Open at Pinehurst by holding off Tiger Woods, he did so after going through a sectional qualifier. Technically, Campbell wasn’t one of the biggest underdogs ever that year because sportsbooks didn’t even give him odds. Instead, he was part of a 6-to-1 “REST OF THE FIELD” bet.

—Scottie Scheffler will win again this week: 3-to-1 odds

—Scottie Scheffler will be extra careful driving to the course this week: LOCK

—I will not stop talking about my hole-in-one this week: Also a LOCK

What a cool gesture by Jason Gore to ask Grayson Murray’s caddie, Jay Green, to caddie for him at the PGA Tour Champions event after the two met at Murray’s funeral:

Again, golf. What a sport. And if you remember, Gore was the fairytale story at the 2005 U.S. Open at Pinehurst. Kind of like, well, you-know-who at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill last year. Just saying. Speaking of which, thanks to Golf Digest’s Jamie Kennedy for dubbing the Michael Block audio over my hole-in-one.

So good. By the way, even crazier was the timing of all this. Just 10 days after I tweeted this:

And just a week after we posted this Anthony Kim comeback spoof:

Hello, haters. I’m really back now.

And CPG must not have heard about my hole-in-one yet!

Before I notched my first, so did Robbie Berger!

What a week! Pray for the aceless Alan Shipnuck!

This mid-round interview with Vince Young wasn’t with, well, Vince Young:

But Citadel assistant football coach Everette Sands handled the mixup well and even got a photo with the college football legend.

After making the long drive home from Rochester, I was greeted with this touching surprise from my wife and kids!

Literally the icing on the cake of an amazing day. Feeling truly #blessed.

Jack Nicklaus talking about his wife Barbara being honored at next year’s Memorial was adorable:

Jack is going to be an absolute mess next year.

Now that’s going the extra mile for a gag. Wow.

I can’t say this enough, but Carlos Boozer is the freaking man.

And to all my fellow Demon Deacons, yes, I did pitch him on his twin boys going to Wake Forest. Don’t think it’s happening, but I had to try!

“Did you fly it in the hole, Alex?” —Michael Block. Nope, you still have me on that one, Michael!

Shout-out to Ernie Els for beating Steve Stricker in a playoff at the American Insurance Championship. Ernie is lucky he got out of Wisconsin alive, though, after taking down a local legend. … Congrats to Linn Grant, who was the beneficiary of that brutal collapse by Sebastian Soderberg. Hey, a win’s a win. … Condolences to Nasa Hataoka for being DQ’d for taking too long to look for her ball. OK, that’s just too depressing on such a great day like today. Let’s move on … And, finally, I thought Friday was going to be the highlight of my week after taking my 6-year-old to Kids Day at work.

Thanks to everyone involved at WBD for giving her—and me—such a memorable experience. Oh, and thanks to everyone still reading for putting up with all this hole-in-one talk.

How many holes-in-one will I make in my life?

How will my first ever be topped?

Seriously, is this real life?!