Yanchep’s Sun City Country Club has played host to one of the most unlikely feats known to golfers — two holes-in-one in consecutive shots.
Earlier this week, the course’s 159m 14th hole became forever etched in the minds of WA golfers Ian Gompertz and Rob Clement, who faced off in a GolfWA Division 5 Men’s Pennants match for their respective clubs.
First to tee off, two-handicapper Gompertz — of The Western Australian Golf Club — attacked the pin with his five iron but lost sight of the ball as it landed on the green.
He was only alerted to the rare achievement when the team manager of his Cottesloe-based competitor Clement gave an AFL goal-scoring gesture to signal the ball had dropped in.
Not to be outdone, Clement defied belief when his six-iron shot pitched on a downhill slope and bee-lined for the hole to match his playing partner.
The chance of two consecutive holes-in-one is estimated to be one in 17,000,000, according to PGA of America.
“I’ve never had a hole-in-one before and now I’ve got a great story to tell for the rest of my life about how I got one and the guy behind me got one as well,” Gompertz joked.
“It was surreal and a brilliant moment but it’s match play, so you just have to reset and go again on the next hole. I was pretty pumped afterward and even birdied the next hole.”
Three-handicapper Clement admitted to being similarly awe-struck when matching his opponent’s unforgettable achievement.
“When we realised Ian’s shot had gone in, I thought I’d lost the hole so may as well just try to hit a good shot,” he said.
“I just wanted to get a clean hit and it was perfect. It was just unbelievable when it went in.”
While both players have a story to tell for the rest of their lives, it was Clement who won the historic day of matchplay.