Not all holes-in-one are created equal, but they’re all special. For European Tour pro Aaron Rai, the ace he made on Friday at the BMW International Open netted him a BMW i8 Roadster convertible, which starts at $163,300.
Beginning his day on the back nine, Rai reached the par-3 16th hole at 1-under par for the day and 4-under par for the tournament. Hoping to hit the ball five or six yards past the pin on the 194-yard hole, Rai watched as his ball landed just short of the green, took a bit of spin and rolled straight into the cup for a 1.
“Not a bad prize, eh?” he said after the round. “It was funny, on the actual shot, we were trying to play it for five or six yards past the pin, but it was a little bit fortunate to go in. Once it went in, (it was an) awesome feeling, but a little bit in shock as well. It doesn’t quite sink in until after the round. You have so many holes to play after that that you can’t get too far ahead of yourself.
“Incredible, incredible to do that.”
Rai got his round to 4-under par through 13 holes, but a muck up on the fifth and sixth holes left him at 1-under par for the round and 4-under par for the tournament, two shots back of Scott Hend who leads at the halfway point.
