Monday qualifier Timmy Crawford cards par-4 ace on Korn Ferry Tour

Golf’s rarest of birds had a Saturday sighting on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Timmy Crawford made a hole-in-one at TPC Colorado’s par-4 third hole during the third round of The Ascendant presented by Blue. The hole measures 365 yards on the scorecard and is played across a large pond. Saturday’s direct line tee-to-hole measured 336 yards. It marks the Korn Ferry Tour’s first par-4 ace since 2012 and fifth overall.

Crawford’s feat came in his PGA TOUR-sanctioned debut, no less. The Illinois native played four years at Loyola University Chicago before transferring to the University of Illinois as a graduate senior in 2023-24, where he earned GCAA PING All-Midwest Region honors. He qualified for The Ascendant via the Monday qualifier, then made the cut at TPC Colorado with rounds of 66-73.

He proceeded to card a 4-under 68 in Saturday's third round, and he stands T36 into the final round. With a top-25 finish, he would qualify for next week's Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper.

"It was pretty cool," Crawford said of his ace. "Caddie and I decided it was driver today; it was a little into the wind, and I definitely pulled it left of where I wanted, and heard the crowd clap and it went in ... I was just trying to get it to front-right edge of the green ... pretty cool to see that go in. Definitely haven't had that happen before."

There has been just one par-4 ace on the PGA TOUR, recorded by Andrew Magee in the first round of the 2001 WM Phoenix Open (No. 17 at TPC Scottsdale). Last year, Davis Shore made a par-4 ace on PGA TOUR Canada, coming at Ambassador Golf Club’s par-4 15th during the second round of the Windsor Championship.

Here’s a look at the par-4 aces on the Korn Ferry Tour:

• Chip Beck, 2003 Omaha Classic, Round 1, ninth hole at Champions Run, 315 yards
• Richard S. Johnson, 2009 Michael Hill New Zealand Open, Round 4, 15th hole at The Hills, 347 yards
• Rahil Gangjee, 2011 Mylan Classic, Round 4, 15th hole at Southpointe Golf Club, 316 yards
• Rob Oppenheim, 2012 Korn Ferry Tour Championship, Round 4, 14th hole at TPC Craig Ranch, 330 yards
• Timmy Crawford, 2024 The Ascendant presented by Blue, Round 3, third hole at TPC Colorado, 365 yards

Crawford had recorded three prior par-3 aces. The first came at a par-3 course as a kid, the second came a couple years ago at his home club, and the third came earlier this year at Champaign (Illinois) Country Club.

This one hit different.

"Kind of shock, honestly. I hit the ball, was like, 'I'll probably have a nice look at eagle,'" Crawford said.

"Definitely will take that one home with me and save that golf ball."