Matthew Southgate almost did something on Sunday at the 2018 Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open that's been done just once in European Tour history.
Playing the 312-yard, par-4 fifth at Gullane Golf Club, Southgate hit his tee shot toward the reachable par 4. Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano was preparing to putt on the green when he realized a ball was coming up on the green. Naturally, the Spaniard backed off the putt to let the ball finish rolling before doing his own thing. The ball kept rolling, rolling toward toward the cup before stopping just about an inch shy of a remarkable par-4 hole-in-one.
Wow....
Matt Southgate just came within inches of an albatross hole-in-one.#ASIScottishOpen #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/fJ3rZUAYvB
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) July 15, 2018
Instead of making an ultra-rare par-4 albatross, Southgate had to settle for a tap-in eagle.
The lone par-4 ace in European Tour history came in 2015, when Javier Colomo made a 1 with a driver on the 334-yard ninth hole at Heritage Golf Club in the second round of the 2015 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.
There's only been on par-4 hole-in-one in PGA Tour history, with Andrew Magee making an ace in the 2001 Waste Management Phoenix Open on the par-4 17th at TPC Scottsdale after his ball ricocheted off the putter of a player on the putting green before going in the hole.
