Another ace means another car.
Venezuelan has hole-in-one during his 64
The celebration told the story for Jhonattan Vegas on PGA National’s 15th tee, flipping his six iron and accepting high fives after making a hole-in-one on Sunday.
From 179 yards out, Vegas landed his shot a few feet in front of the hole before it gently rolled into the cup for theHonda Classic’s second hole-in-one of the weekend at No. 15, the start of the famed three-hole stretch dubbed the “Bear Trap.” Scott Stallings also had a hole-in-one on Thursday.
“I know that it landed about probably three feet short and rolled in,” Vegas said. “It’s just one of those shots you wish you could plan. All you can do is try to aim at it and hit it.”
The eagle highlighted a superb round from Vegas on Sunday, when he shot a 64, tied for the lowest round of the tournament. He birdied five other holes and had one bogey.
Vegas finished the tournament tied for fourth place at 7-under despite entering Sunday tied for 50th place. He also celebrated his hole-in-one by sending beer to the media room.
“I felt really good when I finished yesterday,” Vegas said. “I feel like I got something really going. The first two-and-a-half rounds of the week have been a little bit up and down. I found something really good on my swing yesterday on the back nine.”
Prior to thisweekend, no one had ever hit a hole-inone on No. 15, prompting Honda to dangle a CR-V as the prize for the first golfer to do so. But after Stallings and Vegas both accomplished the feat, Honda will give new cars to both players.
“I knew that he beat me to it, but I’m more encouraged about playing well,” Vegas said. “To get a holeinon that signature hole is super special, it’s a good memory to have.”
Vegas said itwas his fifth ever hole-in-one and third ever on the PGA Tour. His last one came a year ago at the Barbasol Championship in Alabama.
Newmoney
Without the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral the following weekend, the Honda Classic became the premier golf tournament in South Florida. This year, their pockets showed it.
“We have over, I think over $200,000 worth of new revenue that used to be at Doral,” Honda Classic executive director Ken Kennerly said. “We didn’t get it all, obviously, but the goal was to try to pick up a couple of hundred thousand and we did. Companies that entertained down there still need to entertain in the golf space.”
The PGA Tour announced the move from Miami to Mexico City last June while Donald Trump was running for president. The decision broke up the “Florida Swing,” though Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said the organization remained “interested in returning when the time is right.”
The tournament had been held in Miami since 1962.
Volunteer Challenge winners
The Coutoure Club, represented by Nancy Drevins and Ann Vandersteel-Krueger, won the Volunteer Challenge and donated $10,000 to the Children’s Healthcare Charity.
The Volunteer Challenge is an online voting contest thatwas created “to recognize and showappreciation” for tournament volunteers. The Coutoure Club received 469 of the 3,994 total votes.
Staff writer SteveWaters contributed to this report.