The big bird has landed!
PGA Tour pro Taylor Pendrith makes incredible Kapalua history with miracle hole out
Taylor Pendrith did something on the 5th hole that nobody else has ever done before at Kapalua.
Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images
Jack Milko has been playing golf since he was five years old. He has yet to record a hole-in-one, but he did secure an M.A. in Sports Journalism from St. Bonaventure University.
Taylor Pendrith did the unthinkable on Sunday at The Sentry: he made an albatross on the par-5 5th, holing out from 203 yards away.
It’s the first time a PGA Tour player made a double-eagle at Kapalua, a course known for yielding plenty of birdies and eagles. The Sentry, previously known as the Tournament of Champions with various sponsor names, moved to the Plantation Course at Kapalua in 1999.
“I had a really good number, and was just trying to hit a hard 6-iron and land it on the front third and let it chase back,” Pendrith said.
“As soon as I hit it, I knew it was going to be really good, I didn’t expect it to go in, didn’t see it go in, but the fans that were up by the green went crazy, so, yeah, it was a really good bonus.
Remarkably, Pendrith said after his round that this double-eagle was the eighth (!!!) of his life but first in a tournament setting. He also has three holes-in-one.
Yet, nobody saw it live on television. Pendrith teed off at 8:56 a.m. local time with Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley and 2022 U.S. Open winner Matt Fitzpatrick. Since they were the fourth group out on the front nine, NBC and Golf Channel did not even have their camera crews set up on each hole. As such, a low-definition camera captured Pendrith’s miracle hole-out, which bounced twice, deflected off the flagstick, and dropped in the hole.
“Here’s Taylor Pendrith; he was out there before our crew got out there,” explained host Dan Hicks on the broadcast.
“But we had a camera locked down. Watch him on the right side of the screen there. And watch this, take a couple of hops, and go up the stick and in!”
Pendrith earned his way to Kapalua for the first time thanks to his win at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson last May. That victory vaulted him up and into the top 50 of the FedEx Cup standings, where he remained for the rest of the season. He even made it to East Lake for the Tour Championship, his first time doing so.
Pendrith will come up short this week, but he will likely finish among the top 10, perhaps even the top five. And, best of all, he will have a memory that will last a lifetime with his miracle albatross at the 5th.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
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