Advertisement

Will Zalatoris wins cars for himself, caddie after hitting hole-in-one at Genesis Invitational

Will Zalatoris posted a 1-under 70 on Friday in the second round of the Genesis Invitational

Sean Leahy
Contributing writer
·2 min read
32

Will Zalatoris and his caddie, Joel Stock, will be heading home from The Genesis Invitational this week with some new wheels.

Zalatoris hit a hole-in-one on the 14th hole at Riviera Country Club on Friday in Los Angeles, which not only got him back under par but also won him and his caddie brand-new Genesis cars. Zalatoris played the par-3 perfectly, landing his tee shot on the front edge of the green before rolling it in — which sent him flying into Stock's arms on the tee box.

Zalatoris now has two aces in his professional career, following one he made at the U.S. Open in 2020 at Winged Foot.

"I think it was 180 pin back into the wind and we were just trying to hit it kind of right in the middle of that gap between the two bunkers," Zalatoris said. "I just pulled it about 10 feet and it landed perfectly on the fringe and killed it. Lucky to go in. It was a nice little bonus."

Any player who cards the first hole-in-one each day on the 14th hole wins a Genesis GV80, while their caddie takes home an electric Genesis Electrified GV70. The same stipulation is in place each day of the tournament at the 16th hole, with the player winning a Genesis GV70 and their caddie a Genesis GV60.

Will Zalatoris won the cars on the 184-yard par-3 14th hole at Riviera Country Club.
Will Zalatoris won the cars on the 184-yard, par-3 14th hole at Riviera Country Club. (AP/Ryan Kang)

Zalatoris, who returned to the PGA Tour after undergoing back surgery following the Masters, finished 1-under par on Friday and is 6-under for the tournament. Should he go on to win, he will win earn himself another car — a 2025 Genesis GV80 Coupe — as well as $4 million.

"Most of the time when I shoot 1-under it's like two birdies and a bogey," Zalatoris said. "Having a hole-in-one thrown in there and a bunch of crazy bogeys is not exactly how we would have drawn it up, but still, we'll take it around this course."

Patrick Cantlay flew ahead of the rest of the field by Friday afternoon. He backed up his opening-round 64 with a bogey-free 65, which got him to 13-under at the midway point of the tournament. The Southern California native will enter Sunday with a five shot lead over the rest of the field.