It didn’t take long for Jordan Spieth to liven things up Thursday at the Hero World Challenge.
The world’s No. 1 player hit the shot of the day during the first round at Albany in the Bahamas before he was barely warmed up.
“I just needed to hit a nice punch-draw six-iron, it was playing 185-190,” is how Spieth described his tee shot at the par three second hole that landed just short of the hole then gently rolled in for a hole-in-one. “I’d like a few more, honestly,” Spieth said after opening with a five-under par 67.
Spieth’s effort left him just a shot out of the lead held jointly by Paul Casey, Jimmy Walker and Zach Johnson.
Spieth’s ace made up for the fact that he didn’t take advantage of the course that has five par five holes. He birdied only one of them as compared to Bubba Watson, who played them in five-under.
Watson was in with Spieth at 67 along with Bill Haas, Adam Scott and Brooks Koepka.
The oceanside layout was there for the taking with little to no breeze on a course known for testy winds.
As a result, 17 of the 18-man field broke par. Only Hideki Matsuyama struggled and he struggle a lot with a three-over par 75.
Spieth is the defending champion and comes in after a runnerup finish last week at the Australian Open.
