Joe Highsmith writes history on the PGA Tour record book! He has managed to bag three aces in one season, a feat that even Tiger Woods, could not acquire. Along with Vijay Singh, he has taken hold of the title of winning the highest number of tournaments in a year (9 wins in 2000), but well, his story of aces is a different story. Woods has made 20 holes-in-one throughout his golfing life. That’s a lot! But it’s nowhere near the record. On the PGA tour, the 48 YO only has three aces in total.
Highsmith became the first player to make three aces in a PGA Tour season since 1983, as he carded a hole-in-one at the 189-yard, par-3 12th hole at Sedgefield Country Club. When he hit the ball, it landed almost 25 feet past the hole, caught hold of a ridge, and trickled back into the hole. Before this, he made an ace at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and The American Express. The 24 YO, after achieving the final feat, shares that the one at the AmEx was his favorite, the reason you ask? Keep reading to find out.
Joe Highsmith began his PGA Tour journey as a professional this year. Although he does not have a win so far, he has pretty good shots on his list. As he entered the American Express in January, the 24 YO went on to the par-3 13th hole down the choppy seas and carded his second ace of the season. It was a 190-yard tee shot. But, the presence of his grandfather was what made it all the more special.
At the American Express, his grandfather came to support him on the course. But he could barely walk through all the holes, so he waited near the 13th hole, and the ace shot was the only one he witnessed. “The hole-in-one at Amex this year because my grandpa couldn’t walk the course that day so he was staying on the green on that hole, so that was going to be the only shot that he saw all day”, said Highsmith, talking about his favorite ace.
Unfortunately, aces do not always call for great finishes in golf matches. And well pretty much similar was the case in the previous tournaments that Highsmith carded the aces. He finished the Rocket Mortgage at T-57, at the bottom five of the leaderboard, and well, it was a T-34 at the AmEx. But what does it mean for him?
The Washington native carded his third ace right before the probable end of his 2024 campaign. This year, he only managed to make seven cuts in 21 events, which is not even half. This resulted in him entering the Wyndham Championship 158 on the FedEx Cup standings. Only winning it will enable him to make it to the playoffs next week.
The 24 YO rookie also has only one top-10 finish so far (T6 at the Puerto Rico Open). Maybe this week will be different for him, and he will finally be able to shine on the greens. Do you think Joe Highsmith will be able to win the Wyndham Championship? But there is one certain thing, with the 2024 season almost coming to an end, Highsmith will need to buckle up and bag good finishes for the next season! Making ace records does not count!
