A Korn Ferry Tour pro made the best possible start to a tournament by landing one of the rarest birds of all on his first hole of the LECOM Suncoast Classic.
Starting on the 550-yard par-5 10th at Lakewood National Golf Club, 26-year-old Peyton White vaulted immediately to three-under after making an albatross, holing his second shot and achieving one of the most unlikely feats in golf.
Coming into the event on the back of four consecutive missed cuts to begin 2022, this represented the perfect start for the Ohio University graduate. He was, however, unable to maintain the momentum, carding bogeys at his fifth, seventh and ninth holes to hand back all three shots and make the turn at level par.
White dropped three further strokes on his back-nine but bounced back with two birdies to eventually sign for a one-over 72 - not quite the story it could’ve been. The cut currently sits at three-under, meaning White has a lot of work to do if he is to avoid another early exit.
Four-time PGA Tour winners Sean O’Hair and Aaron Baddeley are in the field, as is the European Tour’s 2015 BMW Championship winner Byeong Hun An, who lost his card for the main tour last season. All three are currently in the top 20 as they look to work their way back on to the PGA Tour.
Last year, Byeong Hun An - or Benny An as he is affectionately known - caused a social media stir when he took to Twitter to amusingly rant about constantly getting drawn among the early starters on the PGA Tour. It’s a problem he probably wishes he had now.
We last saw an albatross on the PGA Tour during last year's CJ Cup when Abraham Ancer holed his 250-yard second shot at the par-5 14th during his second round at the Summit Club.
