Dale Whitnell hit two holes in the same round at the South African Open on Friday. The 36-year-old's biggest concern at the start of the day was just to advance on the DP World Tour. But he performed well, scoring 63 in the second round, second and 12 holes at Blair Asol Golf and Equestrian Manor.
Dale Whitnell leaves the South African Open field in awe
The British had never had a success in a professional competition before. But this achievement means he is just the second British man to score two holes in the same round in the professional competition. This feat was first achieved by John Hudson at the 1971 European Tour Martini International at the Royal Norwich Golf Club. Recently, Frank Bensel Jr. won two holes at the 2023 U.S. Senior Open.
The 36-year-old also became the fourth player in DP World Tour history, hitting the fourth player in multiple holes in the same round, following John Hudson (1971), Emanuele Canonica (2002) and Andrew Dodt (2013).
Whitnell's achievements became even more compelling, as the U.S.-based National Vulnerability Registration estimates that the odds of making two vulnerabilities in the same round are 67 million to 1! “I've never competed. Two are special in one day”, he said after 72 shots in the first round.
How Whitnell won his incredible doubles
Whitnell, who ranked 545th in the world's first round, faces the risk of layoffs. However, his two aces on Friday put him in the top ten on the charts, leaving him under nine in the game. He was only five goals behind club director Shaun Norris, 41, of South Africa.
The British from Essex won the game for the second hole of 197 yards and repeated the feat on the 12th of the 149th yards, immediately after he used the Eagles' first hole. Whitnell chased the historic 13 59 59 until he made an expensive double bogey that included air shooting. He then drove away the third shot from the fifth but had to wait for a good hole to hit his second ace, ending up with a 63-nine shot that was better than his Thursday round.
“Back this morning, I knew I was working on my way to advance, so I knew I needed to go out and have a great start,Whitnell said at the DP World Tour. “I was the first bird and then hit 7 irons in the second second until I realized it was inside below the bottom type cheer,” He added. “That Very cute. ”
