PGA Tour star snaps and tosses equipment before sinking a hole-in-one
Hayden Buckley will undoubtedly remember his second round at the 3M Open for both the extraordinary and the exasperating. The 28-year-old golfer’s performance in Minnesota was marked by an incredible feat and an unfortunate display of frustration, leading to a missed cut after finishing five over par. His round was a rollercoaster of highs and lows, culminating in a memorable hole-in-one on the 17th hole.
Buckley’s day began on a challenging note. On the par-four 16th hole, his troubles started with a wayward drive that veered sharply to the right. Fortunately, the rough prevented his ball from plunging into the nearby water hazard. However, his subsequent attempts to salvage the situation went awry. His second shot, meant to be a recovery, ended up striking a red penalty area marker situated just a few yards in front of him. The impact caused the ball to ricochet violently and fall into the lake, prompting a visibly frustrated reaction from Buckley.
The frustration boiled over as Buckley, in a moment of exasperation, picked up the penalty area marker and slammed it into the ground. His emotional outburst was evident, and the result of his outburst was a double bogey on the hole. This setback effectively dashed his hopes of making the cut and continuing into the weekend rounds of the tournament.
Despite the setback, Buckley’s fortunes took a dramatic turn on the very next hole. The 17th is a 178-yard par-three, and Buckley used the opportunity to turn his luck around. Rather than succumbing to the frustrations of the previous hole, Buckley stepped up and executed a perfect tee shot. The ball found the cup in one stroke, resulting in a hole-in-one that elicited cheers and applause from the crowd. The stunning shot was his third career ace, and it provided a much-needed boost to his spirits.
Buckley later reflected on the events of the round, offering insight into his emotional state. He admitted that after the double bogey on the 16th, he was almost ready to give up on the 17th hole. “Ironically, my caddie asked me if that red stake was in the way,” Buckley recounted. “I said there’s no chance it’s in the way, it was a good 10 feet left of my ball. I think it kind of came out low and left and hit the stake. At that point, I was like, all right, I think I’m ready to book my flight home.”
The wait on the 17th tee box, exacerbated by the lengthy delay, added to Buckley’s frustration. “We waited for about 20 minutes on the next tee box. It’s never fun waiting when you’re playing awful,” he said. Nevertheless, the hole-in-one was a silver lining in an otherwise difficult round. “I think weird things happen in this game. It gave me a little bit of something to smile at at least headed home.”
The incident at the 3M Open was not the first time Buckley has experienced the irony of a hole-in-one and a missed cut in the same tournament. He recalled a similar situation at the Players Championship, where he also managed to achieve a hole-in-one but failed to make the cut. “Obviously Sawgrass I had the hole-in-one there as well and missed the cut,” he reflected. “I need to figure out this hole-in-one and make cut thing.”
Buckley’s experience at the 3M Open highlights the unpredictable nature of golf, where moments of brilliance can coexist with periods of frustration. Despite the disappointment of missing the cut, the hole-in-one on the 17th provided a memorable highlight and a reminder of the game’s capacity for surprising and uplifting moments.
