Dubai : Charl Schwartzel bagged the fourth hole-in-one of his career from 166 yards on the par-three sixth hole at Jumeirah Golf Estates Earth Course yesterday.
The South African told Gulf News: "It's a great feeling whenever you get a hole-in-one but to get one in a tournament is something special."
Schwartzel's last hole in one came two years ago at the Johannesburg Open, the other two came at his local golf course when he was 10 and 13 years old.
He added of the trick shot: "It was all thanks to Miguel [Angel Jimenez, his partner for Day 1]. I saw him use a six iron and decided to hit a seven. It was probably a yard or so short but where I was standing it looked as though it released perfectly."
Big boost
"I birdied hole two, bogeyed hole three then from nowhere three holes later I got the hole-in-one — it really boosts your day."
Finishing 69 three under par with four birdies, three bogeys plus that now famous hole in one, Schwartzel is now tied for fifth in the Dubai World Championship leaderboard and eighth in the Race to Dubai standings.
Having not been in contention in recent tournaments, despite playing well, Schwartzel is hopeful his luck is on the turn.
"It's a good start for me. I definitely feel there's a low score out there if I can get the putter working I'll really make a low scoring game."
Laughing off the fact he didn't win a prize for his hole-in-one, as cars or yachts are normally fair game for such an achievement, Schwartzel said: "I thought I'd won a car, because there was a car standing to the right of the tee box but yeah you know I'll have to get another one on the17th [where there is a car]"
