When one thinks of golf fans, there is a certain level of decorum or “class” that is associated with them.
After all, there’s a reason that a “golf clap” is as demur as it is.
That doesn’t mean golf fans can’t utterly and completely cut loose every once in a while, as Sunday so starkly reminded the golf world.
During an LIV Golf event in Adelaide, Australia, on Sunday, American Chase Koepka, younger brother of golf star Brooks Koepka, approached the 12th hole — known as the “Watering Hole” — at The Grange Golf Club.
At that par-3, Koepka wound back, took his swing … And sank an electric hole-in-one.
Now, any golfer will tell you that due to how rare they are, few things can match the feeling of nailing an ace.
Whatever Koepka was feeling in that moment was quickly drowned out by the roar of the crowd and a literal outpouring of liquids.
It’s a scene you would expect to see at Woodstock:
HOLE-IN-ONE FOR CHASE KOEPKA! 🚨#LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/hFyd1qLopw
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) April 23, 2023
Do you watch golf?
Yes: 45% (115 Votes)
No: 55% (141 Votes)
Amid a cascade of beer, wine, water, and who-knows-what-else, an ecstatic Koepka celebrated with fellow golfers Paul Casey and Ian Poulter.
“I smelled like beer the whole entire rest of the day,” Koepka said afterward, according to Golf Digest. “Yeah, it was wild. Crazy experience. I mean, obviously to do it on a hole like that was super special.”
A different, wider angle of the chaos showed just how many cups had been thrown:
Absolute mayhem at the Watering Hole! ☔️#LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/uoV1vd0Pco
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) April 23, 2023
“The next couple hours I was out there, I was just getting ovation after ovation every time I walked up to every shot, every tee box. It was pretty cool,” Koepka added. “That’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event, to be sure, but for LIV Golf, this was also just the second hole-in-one in the existence of the fledgling golf league.
The first ace in LIV history belongs to Matt Wolff, and took place in September 2022.
MATTHEW WOLFF HOLE IN ONE
FIRST IN LIV GOLF HISTORY ⬇️ 🕳️ #LIVGolf #LIVGolfBoston pic.twitter.com/pxukPFdYxH
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) September 2, 2022
As Sports Illustrated noted Friday, The 12th hole at The Grange Golf Club earned the nickname of the “Watering Hole” due to its stadium-like atmosphere — and copious beer sales — directly surrounding the golfer.
That type of stadium seating is atypical of golfing events, though it is featured at the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale for the WM Phoenix Open — another hole and event known for some rowdier antics.
However much the hole-in-one made for great memories, Koepka still finished well back in the competition. According to USA Today, he finished the tournament tied with nine other players at 12 under par, nine golfers behind the winner, the United States’ Talor Gooch.
It was a finish worth $310,000 to Koepka,
