Oakmont, Pennsylvania – France’s Victor Perez only sang his second ace at the U.S. Open at the par-6 hole of the second round on Friday.
From 192 yards, Perez hits the 7-iron in the T-shirt. His ball bounced three times and then followed the cup about 3 feet away. He raised his arms and then rammed caddies James Erkenbeck and attacked his game partners Jacob Bridgeman and Adam Schenk.
Scott Simpson’s 16th hole ace in the first round of the US Open in Oakmont in 1983.
“Obviously, a loophole takes a little luck,” Perez said after the round. “Honestly, I tried to hit something that might be 15-20 feet in the hole, maybe it spins a little and bounces. I’m lucky, I’ll definitely take it.”
Perez told reporters he believes it is the ninth ace of his career – the third time this month. He played twice in a family class in the Bahamas, but he played alone and no one witnessed them.
“They don’t believe I’m at home because I’m playing alone,” Perez said. “Now, they’ll know.”
Perez plays golf in New Mexico and he needs ace to get back to 1. He started the day with that score, but got a three bogey in 5-12, his third hole of the day. He hit a fairway bunker, which required four shots to reach the green, and the three-pointer hit another eight.
Perez bounced back to back birdies on No. 16 and 17 before bogeying on No. 18 for 2 turns with 37 points. He hit a 5-foot birdie in the fifth after defeating another bogey in the fourth 4.
After 36 holes, he ended 1.
Perez is ranked 99th in the world and never advanced at the U.S. Open. He missed the weekend in five straight games this week.
