Oxfordshire tour pro Eddie Pepperell got his attempt at winning his second European Tour title off to the best possible start by notching up his first ever hole-in-one on tour en route to sharing the first round lead at the British Masters.
The 27-year-old from Frilford Heath fired a first round 67 at Walton Heath Golf Club in Surrey to share the early lead with Matt Wallace, who is bidding for his fourth win of the year, and Ryder Cup hero Tommy Fleetwood, who is battling to retain his Race to Dubai title in the face of stiff competition for his good friend and Ryder Cup teammate Francesco Molinari.
While there are still 54 holes to play at Walton Heath, Pepperell was in amongst the prize money early when winning £20,000 for bagging the first ace on the 222-yard par-three ninth.
In what must be one of the most unusual aces recorded on tour, Pepperell’s ball pitched just shot of the hole, bounced up and hit the flag, bounced back and then dramatically spun forward into the cup.
“It was amazing moment for me and it capped off a great day too,” said Pepperell. “From where I was standing it looked like it pitched in the hole, jumped up, looked like it was going long because of the height it came out, and then from there just went in. Very bizarre, but very nice.”
The £10,000 hole-in-prize was sponsored by digital currency company Life Labs, which also matched the prize with a similar donation to Cancer Research UK and the European Tour Foundation’s charity for 2018, the Woodlands Special Needs School. Pepperell donated his £10,000 prize to @HelenAndDouglas, an Oxford-based charity that cares for terminally-ill children.