Tommy Fleetwood Sinks Hole-in-One During Opening Round at 2021 Masters

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images Tommy Masters

Tommy Fleetwood is off to a strong start at the 2021 Masters Tournament.

The 30-year-old English golfer sunk a hole-in-one from 170 yards away on the par-3 16th hole during the annual PGA tournament's opening round Thursday at Augusta National Golf Course in Georgia.

"It was a lovely looking shot," Fleetwood told reporters after his round, per Yahoo! Sports. "It was in between clubs. I was sort of verging on a smooth eight, then I said hard nine. That kind of fit the shot a bit more."

Prior to the hole-in-one, Fleetwood was four-over-par with just three holes left to play. It marked his second consecutive tournament with a hole-in-one and only the 23rd ace in the Masters' history, according to Sport's Illustrated.

"It's really nice to have one at the Masters," said Fleetwood. "I think that's two in two competitive weeks as well. I'm racking them up all of a sudden quickly. I'll try to keep it going."

"It's very special," he added. "Doing it at a major is great, doing it competitively is great, but at Augusta is probably just another edge."

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Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images Tommy Fleetwood

Fleetwood ended Thursday's opening round at two-over par. He is nine strokes behind leader Justin Rose, who opened up his first round with a seven-under par to lead.

The 2021 Masters kicked off on Thursday and ends on Sunday. It's been an exciting tournament so far, with Rory McIlroy accidentally hitting his father with a golf ball on Thursday.

The golf pro, who parred his first four holes and bogeyed the next two holes, hit a spectator on the left leg with an errant shot on the seventh hole. The man turned out to be his own father, Gerry McIlroy.