Club pro Frank Bensel Jr. makes back-to-back holes-in-one at US Senior Open

Bensel’s scorecard showed an ace on the 184-yard fourth hole and another on the 203-yard fifth at Newport Country Club.

Phil Casey
Friday 28 June 2024 10:33 EDT
Frank Bensel Jr. incredibly made back-to-back holes-in-one during round two of the US Senior Open (Richard Sellers/PA)
Frank Bensel Jr. incredibly made back-to-back holes-in-one during round two of the US Senior Open (Richard Sellers/PA) (PA Archive)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Club professional Frank Bensel Jr. amazingly made back-to-back holes-in-one during the second round of the US Senior Open, according to the USGA.

The tournament organisers posted an image of Bensel’s scorecard on social media which showed an ace on the 184-yard fourth hole and another on the 203-yard fifth at Newport Country Club.

According to the National Hole-in-One Registry, the odds of carding two aces in the same round are 67 million to 1. It does not provide odds for consecutive holes.

No video was initially shown of either shot but the USGA followed up with a post showing Bensel, the long-time professional at Century Country Club in Purchase, New York, picking the ball out of one of the holes.

It is thought that the only other instance of a player making consecutive holes-in-one during a tournament occurred in even more remarkable circumstances during the 1971 Martini International at Royal Norwich.

John Hudson followed a hole-in-one at the 195-yard 11th with another ace at the par-four 12th, which measured 314 yards.

Hudson went on to finish tied ninth and earned £160 from the tournament’s total prize fund of £7,000.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in