Timmy Crawford is having himself quite the debut.
Playing in his first PGA Tour-sanctioned tournament, Crawford, a Monday qualifier, not only made the cut at the Korn Ferry Tour’s The Ascendant with rounds of 66-73, but he also followed that with a third-round, 4-under 68 Saturday that included a hole-in-one on TPC Colorado’s par-4 third hole.
The hole measures 336 yards and bends around water. While Crawford’s shot was not captured on video, a bystander described it as never leaving the flag, taking a few hops before finding the green and rolling into the hole.
It’s the first par-4 ace on the KFT since 2012 – and fifth overall. There has been just one par-4 ace in PGA Tour history – Andrew Magee at TPC Scottsdale’s 17th hole during the first round of the 2001 WM Phoenix Open. Davis Shore accomplished the feat last year on PGA Tour Canada.
Crawford played four years at Loyola-Chicago before transferring to Illinois, where he played four times in the Illini lineup, recorded three top-10s and was the team’s alternate for the Big Ten Championship.
When he finished his third round Saturday, Crawford was 9 under and five shots off the clubhouse lead.
