02/05/2024
Two PGA golfers celebrated an extraordinary feat when they followed each other in for consecutive holes-in-one.
Dominic O’Rourke and Steve Cipa both recorded aces at the second hole at Burford Golf Club.
The stunning shots came as the pair were playing in the second round of a pro-am tournament at Oxfordshire.
O’Rourke, a third-year PGA trainee at Lower Henwick Driving Range near Newbury was first on the tee and promptly holed out from 171 yards.
Moments later, Cipa – a PGA professional at The Heron Country Club in Essex – delivered his own masterstroke, finding the bottom of the cup on the same green.
Cipa, 64, said: “I’ll never forget it. It was quite amazing, an amazing experience and quite surreal.
“Hole-in-ones are rare, two on a day is even rarer but two consecutives ones…
“This will be my 44th year of pro golf – I’ve played about 49 years of really good quality golf – and I’ve never heard of two people holing in one on the trot.
“Dominic was first up – 8-iron. It’s a left to right slope and he hits it about eight or nine feet left of the hole and it rolls down, straight in.
“I’m next up and punch a 6-iron on a similar line to his. Mine pitches a bit shorter, runs up to exactly the same spot and rolled into the hole.
“Two holes-in-one in a row – you don’t often see one, do you?”
On an individual note, it was the 11th ace of Cipa’s career.
He added: “I’ve got a nice little collection now. I’ve had a gross 59 at Boyce Hill and I holed a 3-wood on a par-5 for an albatross. The next feat will be to beat my age!”
For O’Rourke, he was thrilled to make his first ever hole-in-one. But he looked back at the crazy couple of minutes with an element of disbelief.
The 28-year-old reflected: “It’s definitely one where I had to pinch myself. Unreal.”
And O’Rourke also revealed that he had minimal practice ahead of the tournament.
O’Rourke added: “I had (PGA) third-year written exams last week.”