For most golfers, making a hole-in-one never happens, but caddie JJ Jakovac hit the jackpot of all aces.
Jakovac, who is the world No. 4 Collin Morikawa’s caddie, was taking part in the annual “Caddie Contest” on the eve of the first round of the Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., on Wednesday. The contest allows caddies to take one shot at the famed No. 17 hole.
Being a caddie for one of the best players in the world, Jakovac had a good idea how to judge the hole for distance and conditions. For the 131-yard shot, he selected a pitching wedge and made his swing. The ball landed on the green, and with a little back spin, it rode the slope toward the hole and dropped in for an ace.
Jakovac can been seen on the viral video jumping for joy, being embraced by his fellow caddies in front of a raucous crowd. The video shows one of the caddies saying, “Are you not entertained.”
The man of the moment spoke to Golfweek after things settled down, describing the perfect shot.
“It had to ride the wind to get there,” he said. “Right as it came off, I was like, that’s a perfect line if it lands the right distance. It started spinning, and I was like, ‘This has a heckuva chance.”
Morikawa was happy for Jakovac, telling Golfweek: “Any hole-in-one is special. A hole-in-one on 17 against every other caddie …”
Jakovac returned to his normal job on Thursday, carrying the bag for Morikawa, who was set to tee off at 1:40 p.m. with Adam Scott and Tommy Fleetwood.
