6,000,000 to 1; Those are the odds of making a hole-in-one on a par four on a regulation golf course. On a cold Sunday in January, Job Levesque beat the odds to sink an albatross from 256 yards at the Hernando Oaks Golf Club.
Levesque, a resident of Hernando Oaks, tee’d off from the white tees on hole six with a PXG Gen 4 Driver and a Titleist Pro V1X yellow ball to log his sixth ace of all time. Due to the angle of the green, Levesque lost track of the ball and went looking for it. Thinking he had driven past the green, Levesque took the cart path around to check for his ball. As he did this, his playing partners Bob Minne, Carey Kline and Mike Riggs hit around the green. After a bit of searching, a divot on the green revealed the truth to Levesque and company.
“I’m walking towards the flag and the other guys already hit their chip shots up onto the green and I looked in the bunker and I didn’t see anything,” stated Levesque. “Then I looked over by the flag and about eight feet away from the pin, there was a big ball mark. Then I knew it had to be in the hole… Then I walked up and looked at it. It was pretty incredible.”
Serendipitously, Hernando Oaks Pro Shop Manager Bill Meredith was nearby to document the occasion as he was playing a mere one hole behind the lucky quartet. Initially upon hearing a commotion from the sixth green, Meredith assumed that someone had just chipped or putted in for an eagle. After receiving a flurry of pictures from the elated Levesque, he realized what had happened and went to confirm with them.
“He sends me four pictures: one of the ball in the hole, one with him walking to the cup, one knelt down to pick the ball out of the hole, and a picture of the scorecard with a one on number six.” Meredith continued, “We finish number six, proceed to number seven, meet Job and his guys to get their story, and have a congratulatory shot together. When we met up with them, they were all so excited to be a part of golf legend.”
A rarity that has only happened once in the history of the PGA Tour, Levesque enjoyed the unique moment. After snapping some pictures of the occasion, he celebrated with a shot of Johnny Walker Blue and had the ball put into a protective case. Though Levesque now does this for particularly special shots, he did not have them encased when he began. “No, the first one I was kind of young and, you know, didn’t really I guess cherish it as much as I should have, but all the other ones I have. So, I’m missing the first one, but I have all the other ones. I have a double eagle on a par five and I saved that one also,” said Levesque.
Levesque’s albatross on Sunday was not even his first ace at the Oaks. Less than a year before his most recent hole-in-one, he accomplished this feat on a par 3 on hole 11 on March 22nd of last year.
After 30 years and six aces, they still have not lost any luster for Levesque though. He knows to cherish this moment, as Levesque has friends that are still unable to breakthrough despite playing nearly as long as he has.
“I’ve played golf for probably 30 years and it’s a rare, rare feat. I played with a guy almost as long – 30 years. I’ve known him almost my whole life and he’s never had one. So, I feel very lucky to have six of them.”
