Aaron Baddeley's tee shot on the par-4 17th Thursday at the Valero Texas Open would have beenthe second hole-in-one on a par 4 in PGA Tour history had he only taken a mulligan.
Baddeley still made an almost statistically impossible birdie on the hole en route to a 68, which put him a shot back of leaderCharley Hoffmanafter the first round at the TPC-San Antonio.
"Well the finish was pretty normal," Baddeley said afterward to reporters, getting a laugh.
The Australian's first swing, from the tee of the easily reachable 336-yard par 4, went wildly left.
"I was thinking of gripping a 3-wood or hit a cut driver, and I don't know, I went with the cut driver," Baddeley said. "(Instead) I hit a pulled draw in the middle of the trees."
After deciding to take an unplayable penalty, the 34-year-old walked back to the tee.
Baddeley said he then decided not to try and pull off the shot he attempted the first time.
"No ... the next one I tried to choke up a little bit on the driver and hit it straight." the three-time PGA Tour winner said.
After hitting the errant first shot, he was able to gather himself and deliver the shot of a lifetime.
"I just said to myself, it was just the wrong shot. Hit a straight one," Baddeley said. "It was straight downwind, get it going straight, it will go straight. So I hit -- and I hit the second one, man. Why didn't I do that the first time? And it rolls up and goes in."
Andrew Mageeholds the distinction of recording the only hole-in-one on a par 4 in PGA Tour history, in 2001 at the TPC Scottsdale in Arizona.
Magee's ball ricocheted off the putter of another pro that was on the green and went in.