Joe Madden sinks hole-in-one at Royal Liverpool Golf Club

Young golfer Joe Madden celebrated a hole-in-one at Royal Liverpool Golf Club during a junior competition at the Open Championship venue.

Madden, 16, from Wallasey hit the ace in blustery conditions on the signature 11th hole at Hoylake, which was playing at 174 yards, during a junior Stableford competition on Monday 3 August.

He struck an 8-iron as junior competition organiser Peter Fraser and junior captain Sam Cooper looked on.

Madden, who plays off a handicap of five and first swung a golf club aged seven, said: “I knew I had hit a good shot but the hole was playing blind. I only realised what had happened when I was on my way to the green and I saw someone waving frantically and saying ‘You’ve holed it!'"

"To achieve my first ace on such an historic course like Royal Liverpool is a great feeling – it’s my first but hopefully not my last."

St Anselm’s College pupil Madden joined the Junior Section at Royal Liverpool earlier this year and says he would love to take up golf professionally or work as an instructor.

The 11th hole, called ‘Alps,’ was the 13th hole in the 2006 Open Championship when champion Tiger Woods could only manage a par during each of his four rounds, although Australian John Senden matched Joe’s feat with a hole-in-one in the third round.

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