Golfer Begins U.S. Open By Holing Out For Eagle On Opening Hole In Absolute Dream Start At Oakmont
Holing out for eagle on the opening hole at Oakmont is as good as it gets.
The nervousness players must feel while playing the first hole of a U.S. Open has to be indescribable. Most would sign up for a par, especially on the incredibly difficult opening hole at Oakmont, to quickly settle into the round and walk to the second tee with no blood.
Holing out for eagle works too, though, which is exactly what Maxwell Moldovan pulled off to begin Thursday's opening round.
After finding the fairway off of the tee - an accomplishment in and of itself - the Ohio native was left with 196 yards to the flag. With the fairway and green sloping severely away from players, you can not fly the ball all the way to the hole, and Moldovan just so happened to land his approach shot in the perfect spot.
His golf ball took a big first bounce just short of the green before checking up nicely, and perfectly trickling into the dead center of the cup.
All he could do is throw his hands up and look up to the sky after realizing he had just made a two on his first hole of the 2025 U.S. Open.
Moldovan, who played his college golf at Ohio State, has spent the majority of the last two seasons on PGA Tour Americas and Monday qualified into this year's U.S. Open at Springfield Country Club.
This week marks his fourth appearance in a U.S. Open, which is mighty impressive for a 23-year-old, and already has to be his most memorable to date thanks to the eagle on the first hole.