Golfer wins $1M for hole-in-one
There isn’t a golfer alive who wouldn’t love to sink a hole-in-one — and there’s not a single person on Earth who wouldn’t appreciate an unexpected $1 million payday. But it’s not often that those desires collide the way they did for Jeff Barton, who won a cool million after sinking a miracle shot at Paa-Ko Ridge Golf Club in Sandia Park, N.M.
Barton was one of 132 golfers participating in a Lincoln-sponsored charity golf tournament last Thursday in Sandia Park, located about 20 miles outside Albuquerque. The tournament was a fundraiser for nearby East Mountain High School.
Normally, the ninth hole at Paa-Ko is a 477-yard par-4 from the tips, but tournament organizers set it up as a par-3 with temporary tee markers in the fairway. (An employee at the golf course told FOX Sports that the tee box was at least 145 yards from the pin and estimated that it could have been as long as 160 — though he couldn’t confirm a definitive distance.)
The par-3/4 offered a $1 million prize to anyone who holed out — 12,500-to-1 odds, according to the East Mountain High School website, which also noted that the $1 million was covered by an insurance policy. When Barton stepped up to the makeshift tee box, this happened:
Someone hit a hole in one for a million bucks at the #EMHS tournament. Unreal. #Witness pic.twitter.com/IwuKCG05Qb
— Mackenzie Bishop (@abrazomack) August 23, 2013
congrats to Jeff Barton who won $1million with a hole in one on Paa-Ko Thurs night at fundraiser for East Mountain HS #OneMeeeelionDollars!
— J.P. Murrieta (@KOBSports) August 23, 2013
Naturally, the shot got a lot of people excited, including the principal of East Mountain High:
But you can bet that there wasn’t anyone more excited than Barton, who (we assume) was more than happy to buy a couple rounds in the clubhouse when the round was over.