NEWPORT, R.I. — Frank Bensel turned up a pair of aces — on back-to-back holes — in the second round of the U.S. Senior Open on Friday at Newport Country Club.
Bensel aced the 173-yard fourth hole with a 6-iron and followed it up with another hole-in-one on the 202-yard fifth with the same club.
While consecutive holes-in-one are exceedingly rare, it’s also unusual for a course to have two straight par-3 holes, like the setup this week at the 7,024-yard, par-70 Newport Country Club.
Bensel is a 56-year-old from Jupiter, Florida. He has played in six PGA Tour events and never made a cut.
Even with the aces, Bensel had a tough time at the seaside course. He finished with a 4-over 74 and made four straight bogeys to follow up his aces. He completed 36 holes at 9-over 149.
The only other USGA championship to have a player card two holes-in-one in the same round was the 1987 U.S. Mid-Amateur, when Donald Bliss aced the eighth and 10th holes. Because he started on the back nine, Bliss got a hole-in-one on his first hole of the day and his 17th at Brook Hollow in Dallas.
