{"id":231940,"date":"2025-10-22T13:15:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T13:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/231940\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T13:15:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T13:15:15","slug":"best-day-of-golf-in-my-life-d3-golfer-aces-same-hole-twice-in-same-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/231940\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Best day of golf in my life’: D3 golfer aces same hole twice in same day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Think one hole-in-one is impressive? Try two holes-in-one, on the same day, on the same hole.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s exactly what Sewanee sophomore Niel Phillips did Monday at the Chick-Fil-A Invitational in Rome, Georgia.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was something else, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d Phillips told Golf Channel on Monday evening via phone. \u201cTwo good swings, and some good luck.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the tournament\u2019s 36-hole day requiring back-to-back shotgun starts, Phillips, a New Orleans native competing on the Tigers\u2019 B-team, began his first round on Stonebridge Country Club\u2019s par-3 eighth hole and holed a 6-iron from 182 yards for the first ace.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was 8:30 in the morning, first swing of the day, cold, wet, so it was probably more like a 195 shot,\u201d Phillips said. \u201cAnd I just flushed it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phillips followed by playing his next four holes in a combined 5 over, but birdies on Nos. 15-17 and a slew of pars allowed him to polish off an even-par 72.<\/p>\n

Then Phillips headed back to No. 8 to start his second round. With the hole locations remaining the same, Phillips took one less club, a 7-iron, and again jarred his tee shot. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe was going pretty crazy,\u201d Sewanee head coach Keenan Hickton said. \u201cThe first one we were pretty sure it went in. And then the second one, it was the same shot, dead straight and never left the flag, but the sun was a little different so we weren\u2019t sure it went in, and I think we were both just in disbelief that it wouldn\u2019t be possible. But when we walked up there, the closer we got, we saw a ball mark about 4 feet short and you could see nothing on the green anywhere else.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how he played golf for the next five or six holes because everyone in the group was just like in shock.\u201d<\/p>\n

Added Phillips: \u201cI was in disbelief, like there\u2019s no way that can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPERFECT SHOTS ALL THE WAY!”<\/p>\n

A D3 golfer aced the same hole twice on the same day Monday at the Chick-Fil-A Invitational in Rome, Georgia.@SewaneeTigers<\/a> sophomore Niel Phillips began his first round with a hole-in-one (6-iron from 182 yards) on the par-3 eighth hole at\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/KLeBShUZVm<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Brentley Romine (@BrentleyGC) October 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s believed to be the first time that any college player, at any level, has aced the same hole in back-to-back rounds on the same day.<\/p>\n

For Phillips, the holes-in-one were Nos. 2 and 3 of his career; hsi first one came from 121 yards in a Kelly Gibson Junior Tour event when he was 13 years old.<\/p>\n

Phillips ended the day at 1 under following his second-round 71, which also included four birdies in a five-hole stretch from Nos. 2-6. Phillips, who has carded every score up to \u20187′ through 36 holes, enters Tuesday\u2019s final round in solo ninth, four shots off the lead.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a very up-and-down day, and I played very average otherwise, so it\u2019s hard to put this above some tournament wins that I\u2019ve had in high school,\u201d Phillips said. \u201cBut so far in college, this is No. 1 \u2013 and maybe, forget about tournament, this might be the best day of golf in my life. Can\u2019t beat two holes-in-one on the same hole on the same day, and the first swing of the day. Crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is Phillips\u2019 third start of the fall. He finished 82nd out of 96 players at Sewanee\u2019s fall opener, the Gate City Invitational (Phillips recorded two eagles during that event), and he most recently placed last in the 87-man Tartan Invitational, though that was because he withdrew during his second round with a stomach bug. He is ranked No. 831 by Scoreboard while Sewanee is fifth nationally as a team.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019ll change pretty quickly,\u201d Phillips said of his ranking.<\/p>\n

Asked how Phillips\u2019 rare achievement will be commemorated, Hickton had already started to brainstorm, though he did make one admission: Phillips had already lost one of the balls, depositing the first hole-in-one ball in the water on the very next hole.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople don\u2019t have to know that \u2013 it was the same ball, same ball,\u201d Phillips quipped. \u201cBut no, the next three holes after that are just absolute water-ball holes, and I didn\u2019t escape them very well. I think I was a little distracted. I probably should\u2019ve kept it and put it in the bag, but it\u2019s your lucky ball, right, you gotta keep playing with the lucky ball, maybe you\u2019ll make another one \u2013 and I did.\u201d<\/p>\n