Tiger Woods of the United States began his first round at the PGA Championship held at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin. The image captures Woods teeing off on the 13th hole, with the golf course and beautiful scenery in the background. The photograph showcases the golfer’s silhouette against the sunlight, creating a striking visual. Whistling Straits, situated near Haven in Kohler, provides a picturesque setting with its heavenly clouds and serene water. This image, with the identification number 05317763, was taken by IMAGO and is exclusively published in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Russia, Sweden, and Norway. It represents the men’s Golf PGA Tour Championship held in the United States in 2004, and the photograph emphasizes the golfers and the stunning surroundings.
Image number 05317763, dated 12 08 2004, captures Tiger Woods of the USA teeing off on the 13th hole during the first round of the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin.
Joe Highsmith has made history on the PGA Tour by achieving three holes-in-one in a single season, a feat that even Tiger Woods has not accomplished. Alongside Vijay Singh, Highsmith holds the record for the most tournament wins in a year, with nine victories in 2000. However, his story of aces is unique. Woods, on the other hand, has made a total of 20 holes-in-one throughout his golfing career, which is still far from the record. In the PGA Tour, the 48-year-old has only managed three aces.
Highsmith became the first player since 1983 to achieve three aces in a single PGA Tour season. He accomplished this by carding a hole-in-one at the 189-yard, par-3 12th hole at Sedgefield Country Club. His shot landed past the hole, caught a ridge, and rolled back into the hole. Prior to this, he also made aces at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and The American Express. Highsmith, 24 years old, considers the ace at The American Express to be his favorite. To find out why, continue reading.
This year marked Joe Highsmith’s debut as a professional on the PGA Tour. Although he has yet to secure a win, he has displayed impressive shots. During the American Express tournament in January, Highsmith made his second ace of the season on the par-3 13th hole. The tee shot covered a distance of 190 yards. What made this ace even more special was the presence of his grandfather.
At the American Express tournament, Highsmith’s grandfather came to support him on the course. However, due to difficulty walking, his grandfather waited near the 13th hole. The ace shot was the only one he witnessed that day. Highsmith shared, “The hole-in-one at Amex this year because my grandpa couldn’t walk the course that day, so he was staying on the green on that hole. That was going to be the only shot that he saw all day.”
Unfortunately, holes-in-one do not always lead to impressive endings in golf tournaments. And quite similar was the situation in the previous competitions where Highsmith achieved the holes-in-one. He finished the Rocket Mortgage tournament at T-57, placing in the bottom five of the leaderboard, and similarly, he secured a T-34 position at the AmEx tournament.
The golfer, hailing from Washington, recorded his third hole-in-one just before the likely conclusion of his 2024 campaign. Throughout this year, he only managed to successfully complete seven events out of 21, which is not even half of the total. As a result, he currently stands at 158th position in the FedEx Cup standings, entering the Wyndham Championship. Only a victory in this championship will grant him a spot in the playoffs next week.
Furthermore, the 24-year-old rookie has only achieved one top-10 finish thus far, which was a T6 placement at the Puerto Rico Open. Perhaps this week will bring a different outcome for him, and he will finally be able to showcase his skills on the putting greens. Do you believe Joe Highsmith has what it takes to emerge victorious in the Wyndham Championship? However, one thing is certain: with the 2024 season drawing to a close, Highsmith must step up his game and secure impressive finishes for the upcoming season. Simply setting records for holes-in-one will not suffice.
Photo from Tiger Woods Instagram
