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This article was published 28/08/2022 (1454 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A hole-in-one, an albatross or an eagle are feats most golfers only dream of making at some point in their career. Karlos Jeong found a way to make them all happen in one round.

Jeong, 35, carded three of the best single-hole scores in golf en route to a 5-under 67 in the first round of the Southwood Golf & Country Club men’s flight A club championship this weekend.

“It was like a dream. Just thinking about it is nice,” Jeong said while laughing about his unforgettable round.

After what he describes as a “bad start,” being 2-over par through his first seven holes, Jeong’s hole-in-one came on the 135-yard par-3 eighth (traditionally the 17th), in which he hit a choke-down pitching wedge. The ball landed inches away from the pin before spinning back and hopping into the hole.

“I thought to myself ‘OK, I need to calm down,’ because, after an ace, I usually see people not play very well,” said Jeong, who had already notched two hole-in-ones. “They get over-excited, especially in a tournament.

“I kept saying to myself, ‘OK nothing happened.’”

The self-instruction worked.

On the ensuing par-5 ninth hole, Jeong crushed his tee shot down the middle of the fairway before flushing an 8-iron from 170 yards out. He was left with a seven-foot putt for eagle, which he buried into the heart of the cup.

After mixing in a mundane birdie on the 14th hole, Jeong stepped to the par-5 16th hole.

His tee shot landed in the first cut on the left side. His second shot was dangerous, with water down the left and bunkers guarding the green’s right side. Nevertheless, he played his natural draw from 202 yards out, the ball landing three feet on the right side of the green before curling into the cup for an albatross.

Jeong, who is a 2.6 handicap, has finished several rounds under par but was now on the brink of a personal best.

“After the albatross, I was shaking,” Jeong said. “I wanted to keep that score … It was my new record.”

He scrambled for a par at the par-4 last, securing his record and a firm lead in the club championship heading into the final round. Jeong went on to shoot a 76 in the second round, capturing the men’s flight A club championship by nine strokes.

Jeong, who has been a member at Southwood for three seasons and was competing in his second club championship this year, had just got back from a family vacation when he decided to join the two-day event.

Jeong started golfing when he was 12 in his hometown of Seoul, South Korea. At 15, he immigrated to Winnipeg with his parents and continued to excel in the sport, eventually representing Team Manitoba in the Canadian junior championships.

jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jfreysam