English golfer Dale Whitnell defied 67,000,000-1 odds by by sinking two holes-in-one in a dream round of golf at the South African Open. The 36-year-old had a day to remember at the Durban Country Club after completing the incredibly rare feat.
A hole-in-one is a difficult shot to make on a professional golf course. It is estimated that hitting two during the same round is a staggering 67 million-to-one. In calm South African conditions, Whitnell aced the 179-yard 2nd hole. He then struck another hole-in-one on the 12th hole, which is 149 yards.
Whitnell followed his first ace with a birdie but ultimately fell away. The Essex-born star needed birdies in his final three holes to make what would have been an excellent 59 but he double-bogeyed in the 16th.
His final total of 63 beat his level-par Thursday round by nine shots. Whitnell is five shots behind the leader, South Africa’s Shaun Norris.
“Coming back this morning I knew I was struggling to make the cut, so I knew I needed to go out and play well and I got off to a hot start,” Whitnell told DP World Tour.
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“I birdied the first and hit a flush seven iron on the second, I didn’t realise it had gone in until they cheered down at the bottom.
“Then I got another hole-in-one on the 12th. Bizarre. It’s a weird feeling, everything in one. I was excited and adrenalin was pumping, but I had to focus on my job and managed to do that OK.”
Whitnell is 545th in the world rankings and also revealed that he had never previously shot a hole-in-one in competitive action. He became only the second Englishman to achieve two in the same round.
John Hudson, whose double hole-in-one came in the European Tour’s Martini International at Royal Norwich in 1971, is the only other Englishman to achieve the same. Hudson’s was made even more impressive by the fact that his achievement came across consecutive holes.
That included the whopping 314-yard par four.
American Frank Bensel Jr also made two holes-in-one on consecutive holes at the 2024 US Senior Open.
Whitnell might have failed to land a 59, but that was actually achieved by another player on Thursday. American Jake Knapp came within a whisker of equalling Jim Furyk’s record of 58.