Making a hole-in-one at any time is one of sports’ greatest joys, but there is perhaps no better time than doing it in front of Tiger Woods. That is exactly what 11-year-old Holden Bautista did at the weekend, and the legendary 15-time major champion showed a touch of class in his response.
Bautista was playing in the TGR Jr Invitational at Pebble Beach in California on Sunday. The tournament is held annually by Woods’ charitable foundation, with 60 of the best junior golfers in the country getting the chance to test their skills on The Hay and The Links courses at one of the most revered golf complexes on the planet.
Just taking part in the event was a great achievement for all of the players, but Bautista made it an experience beyond his wildest dreams by scoring an ace on The Hay course with Woods watching on in the gallery. What makes it more remarkable is that it was not Bautista’s first hole-in-one of the day, with the youngster finding the bottom of the cup with a tee shot earlier in the day.
The odds of making a one hole-in-one are 12,500 to one, but the chances of making two in the same round are approximately a ridiculous 67 million to one, underlining the scale of Bautista’s achievement. After the celebrations subsided, Bautista was introduced to Woods, who shook his hand and said “I’m proud of you”. And in true Woods fashion, he imparted a bit of his winner’s mentality, adding: “Let’s keep it going, hey”.
Woods has not played competitive golf since missing the cut at The Masters in April, where he was plagued by injuries. The 47-year-old had surgery later that month and he has been on the road to recovery since.
Excitement is building over his potential return to action in the coming weeks and months. On Sunday, Woods posted a video on social media of him practicing full wedge shots at The Hay, intensifying speculation over his comeback.
Woods’ return could come as soon as next month in The Bahamas. The TGR Foundation hosts the event in Albany and Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis reports there is a “good chance” Woods tees it up at the event.
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Despite being out of action, Woods has remained one of the biggest stories in golf in recent weeks, with growing speculation that he could be selected as the Team USA Ryder Cup captain for the showdown with Europe at Bethpage Black at New York in 2025. Zach Johnson led the Americans to a 16.5-11.5 defeat in Rome earlier this month, sparking calls for Woods to get his chance at the captaincy.
“We’ve got to call and ask him,” said David Love III, a former USA captain. “Obviously, Tiger’s into a lot of stuff right now, and I hate to put pressure on him, but it’s his call. Obviously, with some guys out, he’s the next logical choice. I don’t know if we want to put that much time and effort into it.”
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