Anytime a hole-in-one happens, it’s a special moment as the miraculous shot is a combination of skill and dumb luck.
On the second day of the Amer Ari Invitational in Waikoloa, Hawaii, ASU freshman Austin Quick was preparing for just another par-3.
Quick swung his club and drilled the ball off the tee. The shot bounced twice and rolled directly into the hole, completing the rare hole-in-one.
“(I did a) huge fist pump, looked over, then I saw my teammate Mathias (Schjoelberg),” Quick said. “He came over and gave me a hug and it was awesome. Then I gave my coach a high-five.”
Coach Tim Mickelson enjoyed watching his freshman complete the remarkable feat.
“Obviously the hole-in-one is so rare,” Mickelson said. “I was there watching him do that. It was really cool.
“More importantly, he didn’t have a great fall. For him to go in the top 15, that should give him a lot of confidence to help his game going forward.”
Quick finished the Amer Ari Invitational tied for 13th, leading the Sun Devils with a three-day tally of five-under par.
As a team, the ASU men’s golf squad finished in eighth place at the invitational.
The Sun Devils finished higher than projected, posting better scores than perennial powerhouses No. 2 Oregon and No. 14 Oklahoma State.
“I’m actually very pleased,” Mickelson said. “It was our first tournament of the spring and we had three freshmen in the lineup.”
Senior Spencer Fletcher wasn’t on top of his game, but ASU’s No. 3 freshman golfer Mathias Schjoelberg and No. 2 Quick stepped up.
“(Fletcher) didn’t hit the ball very well, and to make matters worse, he struggled putting,” Mickelson said. “The green is very, very crucial and he never got a good feel for the green. He was leaving himself a lot of six to eight foot putts for par. If you miss one or two early, it’s tough to get that confidence (back). That’s what happened.”
Schjoelberg played up-and-down throughout the invitational. On day one, he finished four-under par, but after day two he was even par. Schjoelberg responded on the final day with a three-under par, finishing tied for 23rd.
As a whole, the Sun Devils played their best on the second day, when the wind sporadically whipped around.
The team finished the day three-under par, which was tied for second among the elite field.
“The biggest difference on day two was our guys battled early before the wind got really strong,” Mickelson said. “When the wind did get strong, they struggled like most teams did, but instead of giving up and just trying to finish the round, they were able to turn it around and make some birdies at the end.”
Reach the reporter at jmjanss1@asu.edu
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