COVERAGE: Perez Powers Into Contention With Rare Oakmont Ace

OAKMONT, Pa. — Victor Perez was starting to make a comeback from his triple bogey at Oakmont Country Club’s 12th hole, when he pulled a 7-iron on the par-3 sixth hole.

Perez’s shot on the 192-yard hole rolled around and into the hole, causing the Frenchman to spontaneously chest bump his caddie, James Erkenbeck.

“Obviously a hole-in-one takes a lot of luck,” Perez said of his ace. “I was trying to hit something maybe 15-20 feet past the whole and maybe spun a little bit more and spun in. (I’m) a little bit fortunate which I’ll definitely take going into the weekend.”

Ironically enough, though this is his first ace on the PGA Tour, this is not even Perez’s first hole-in-one this month, as he had two back home in the Bahamas.

“I guess I’m on a hole-in-one run at the moment,” beamed Perez. “I might dry off for the next 10 years now, who knows? I was really happy.”

Now Perez will always be an answer alongside Scott Simpson in 1983 on the 16th hole as far as who has recorded a hole-in-one at Oakmont during a U.S. Open.

Despite Perez missing two looks on his opening holes and the triple bogey at the par-5, he kept his head going and bounce back.

Perez understands that at any U.S. Open, let alone Oakmont Country Club, you just try to make par and survive. Any birdies are a bonus and a hole-in-one proved quite emotional.

“It’s definitely not easy by any means,” Perez said of how Oakmont is playing. “I think a bit of the rough is going to get patted down, hopefully. Some of the wide misses you may be able to get away with it, so it might be a way to hit more drivers, but at the same time, you could still get penalized, the bunkers around the fairways are just as penalizing as the rough most of the time, you’re just trying to advance.”

One thing is for sure; Perez is well inside of the cut and has a legitimate chance to win his first major and he is quite pleased.

When asked if he would have signed off for 1 over after 36 holes, his response was immediate.

“Oh, 100 percent,” concluded Perez.