Justin Rose makes hole-in-one as Olympic golf tournament begins

Justin Rose made the first hole-in-one in modern Olympic golf history Thursday, and he has his caddie to thank for it.

“I was going to hit 8-iron and [my caddie] told me 7-iron, and I went with him for a change,” said Rose, referring to his caddie, Mark “Fooch” Fulcher. “Fooch can have that one.”

The eagle on the 189-yard hole put the Team Great Britain member at 3 under early in his round. He finished at 4 under and is tied for fourth as he trails Australian Marcus Fraser, who shot an 8-under 63.

“Definitely one of those icing-on-the-cake moments,” Rose said. “When you’re the first to do anything, no one can ever take that away from you, whatever it is. That was definitely a cool moment.”

Rose, the 2013 U.S. Open champion who is ranked 12th in the world, couldn’t see the ball go in for his ace.

“It was one of those … almost like an infinity edge where the pin wasn’t where the cup sets and where the back edge falls off the green,” Rose said. “So it was either in or it was off the back edge. And the way reaction was from the few people up around the green, [I] figured that it went in and not over the back.”

Playing alongside American Rickie Fowler and Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas, Rose played holes 3, 4 and 5 in 4 under, including the ace at No. 4.

“If you look at the leaderboard, loads are in contention,” said Rose, as 33 of the 60 players in the field finished at even par or better. “I always knew it was going to be the kind of golf course that was going to have a big spread, because it’s not an easy golf course, but there are a lot of opportunities, if that makes sense. … There’s a lot of easy holes and a lot of really tough holes, so it’s always going to spread out the field.

“… Obviously you see some of the other sports, and you realize that you can’t win a gold medal on the first day. You have swimming heats and elimination rounds, and it’s all about keeping pace and keeping it in until the time comes.”

Team Great Britain teammate Danny Willett shot an even-par 71 and is tied for 27th after the opening 18 holes. The reigning Masters champion bogeyed two of his final five holes to end his opening round.