Alright, golf fans—let’s talk about how John Parry just turned a sleepy Saturday morning at the British Open into a moment of pure golf electricity.
As the U.S. crowd was rubbing the sleep out of their eyes and flipping on coverage of the 2025 British Open at Royal Portrush, Parry stepped up to Hole 13, a 192-yard par 3 that had teased near-misses all week. And what did he do?
He dropped an ace. Hole-in-one. First of the tournament. And it wasn’t just a flashy highlight—it was a moment that completely flipped the script on Parry’s round.
From 1-Over to a Surge Into Contention
Coming into Saturday, Parry sat at 1-over par—solid, but forgettable. Then came No. 13, and in a matter of seconds (and three bounces), he was suddenly 4-under on the day and climbing the leaderboard faster than the camera crew could keep up.
Speaking of that camera crew, they totally missed it. Can’t even blame them, honestly. These are rare, and even the best camera operators can get caught off guard when a perfect shot disguises itself as just another good one. The broadcast camera was zoomed way out, trying to follow the ball’s arc. By the time it zoomed back in? Too late. The ball was already in the cup.
The only real clue came from the announcer’s voice jumping an octave and the celebration that erupted on the tee box. Parry was shown high-fiving his caddy and getting congrats from his playing partner, Justin Leonard—you know, the guy who won this thing back in 1997. Not bad company.
Lightning Strikes Twice at Portrush
And here’s a little trivia nugget for the golf geeks out there: Hole 13 at Portrush seems to have a thing for aces. Back in 2019, during the last Open held here, Emiliano Grillo also aced this exact hole. That’s two hole-in-ones on the same hole in two different British Opens at this historic track.
So yeah—next time the Open comes to Portrush, keep your eyes on No. 13. The golf gods seem to have a sense of humor there.
A Run to Remember?
Parry followed up the ace with a birdie on No. 15, which got him into a tie for 10th place with just three holes left in his round. This wasn’t just a feel-good story—it was a legit surge into contention.
We’ll have to see how he closes, but if John Parry finds himself on the front page of The British Open leaderboard Sunday, you better believe it all started with one pure swing—and one completely missed camera shot.
