Dustin Johnson, J.B. Holmes nail holes-in-one in quick succession
DORAL, Fla. -- Early in Saturday's third round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship, Donald Trump might have had a few choice words for the person responsible for establishing the hole location at the par-3 fourth.
"You're fired."
While fans thrilled, it's doubtful The Donald joined in the excitement, because within 25 minutes of one another, Dustin Johnson and J.B. Holmes both treated the beefy fourth hole like a stop at the local Pitch 'n Putt. Johnson did the hole-in-one honors first, as his 7-iron proved perfect from 207 yards, then Holmes did likewise, also with a 7-iron, two pairings later.
Each hit high tee shots that landed halfway onto the green and rolled the rest of the way as if they had been putted by Ben Crenshaw. But neither will be driving away with a glitzy, brand-new Cadillac; the give-away par-3s were the ninth and 15th.
"Great number for a 7-iron," Johnson said. "(But) I pushed it just a hair right. Still a really good shot, obviously, and got lucky it went in."
Well, that at least confirms what Lee Westwood said, that for anyone to ace that treacherous hole, he had to have pushed the tee shot.
Or does it? Holmes said, "I was actually aiming right at it," because the wind was off the right.
"I thought if I hit it perfect, it would stay straight â and it did."
It was Johnson's fourth ace in PGA Tour competition, Holmes' second, and it's the first time since the 2013 Barclays that there has been two aces on the same hole in the same round. It happened that year at Liberty National when Greg Chalmers and K.J. Choi did the honors.
What may have ruffled Trump, perhaps, is that the usually stout fourth hole was easy pickings for the boys in Round 3. An annual challenge, it had rated second-hardest over the opening two rounds, playing to a field average of 3.473, as only a combined six birdies were made, Compare that to Saturday when the field average was 2.918, making it fifth-easiest. Whereas 27 bogeys, 17 doubles, and four triples were made Thursday and Friday, there were just six bogeys in Round 3.
Johnson heard the roars as he played the fifth and wasn't at all upset that his spotlight had to be shared.
"That's still pretty cool," he said.
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