Warwick golf pro lands New Zealand hole-in-one
Shock and surprise were the thoughts which ran through Warwick head PGA professional Sam Eaves’ head when he shot a hole-in-one at the New Zealand Open earlier this week.
It was the shot of the day at the 101st Open, landing the ace on the par-3 13th hole earning the professional a Hyundai Kona Electric to be donated to a charity of the public’s choice.
“It was a bit of a surprise,” Eaves (pictured) said.
“The hole-in-one prize was for Drive for Good, and the public voted who the car would go to and as a result New Zealand Mental Health Foundation won.
“But as part of getting the hole-in-one, I won $5,000.”
Having only qualified for the tournament last Monday, Eaves was happy to string together a four round performance which saw him finish the Open tied in 14th with a 10 under par.
“I was just proud of the fact that I put four rounds together and finished off nice and strong,” he said.
“I’d felt confident in my game, all week really.
“It’s always pretty good scoring over there (in New Zealand), so I’m just very happy with how I did.”
With eager eyes watching on from home, Warwick Golf
Club president Don Stewart said Eaves had the full support of the club behind him.
“He’s done exceptionally well,” Stewart said.
“He’s had minimal practice and he’s done well to qualify with a good game in Toowoomba and a better game in Caboolture last week.
“We’re all excited about, it’s brought up a few conversations at the course this morning.”
Now returning to his day job at the Warwick Pro Shop, Eaves isn’t sure when he will compete at his next tournament.
“It’s definitely something I’ll look into but at the moment I’ll just go back to work on Tuesday, and keep going,” Eaves said.
“Although, it was really good to have that support from everyone back home – not only in Warwick but Toowoomba and Maryborough as well.”