Chris Crawford makes first ace in PGA TOUR Americas history

With one swing, Chris Crawford earned a piece of professional golf history.

Crawford, 30, recorded the first ace on PGA TOUR Americas during Thursday's opening round of the Diners Club Peru Open, holing a 5-iron at the par-3 fourth hole (from 207 yards), his 13th hole of the day. It wasn’t just the first hole-in-one on PGA TOUR Americas; it was Crawford’s first competitive ace.

At first glance, he also didn’t realize its final destination.

“It was probably the most boring hole-in-one you’ll ever see,” Crawford said afterward. “I hit a really good shot; I hit 5-iron, it was kind of close to right at it, maybe landed just right of it. But I picked up the tee; I wasn’t really watching … I thought the ball was on the green, but I looked up and I didn’t see anything. I thought maybe, ‘OK, I did this in the practice round; maybe it rolled in the back bunker.' And then my two playing partners and their caddies, nobody said anything either. So we walked up, and I started walking toward the back bunker, and then I didn’t see anything. And then (playing partner) Gunn (Yang), he walked over to the hole, and he was like, ‘It’s in the hole.’ And that was it.”

Crawford proceeded to shoot 5-under 67, one back of a four-way co-lead after the opening round in Peru.

Crawford is perhaps best known as a maestro of Golf’s Longest Day, having successfully navigated 36-hole Final Qualifying for three U.S. Opens (2016, 2017 and 2021). The Drexel alum also Monday qualified into the PGA TOUR’s Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches earlier this year, marking his first non-major TOUR start.

Crawford entered the week at No. 34 on the PGA TOUR Americas season-long Fortinet Cup, 3-for-3 in made cuts this season with two top-25s. The top 60 on the standings after the Latin America Swing will earn full status on the North America Swing this summer. The top 10 on the season-ending Fortinet Cup (including both swings) will earn exempt 2025 Korn Ferry Tour membership.