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Picture the scene: you’re playing in a major championship when, suddenly, you have a hole-in-one… but nobody seems to care.

That was the reality that Patrick Reed faced in today’s opening round of the US Open at Winged Foot.

The former Masters champion had a spectacular one-hop-and-in hole-out at the par-3 seventh, which, ordinarily, would have the fans going crazy,

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Except there are no fans.

This week’s championship in New York state is taking place behind closed doors as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. So, rather than roars, Reed’s ace was met with just about total silence.

Watch (and listen)…

A shot that good deserves a bigger reaction, no?

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Even Reed’s playing partners – Hideki Matsuyama and Jordan Spieth – seemed underwhelmed. Although, in the case of Spieth, you can perhaps understand the muted reaction…

That hole-in-one helped Reed card a four-under 66 in the opening round of the second men’s major of this COVID-impacted 2020, one shot off the early lead posted by Justin Thomas.

Afterwards, he admitted he was disappointed that fans couldn’t have been on-site to enjoy his second professional ace with him.

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“Up here in New York, the fans are amazing,” he said. “You go ahead and you hole out from the fairway, you make a hole-in-one, the fans will just go crazy.

“It was unfortunate the fans weren’t here because that would have been an awesome experience. But at the same time, an ace is an ace. I’ll take it either way. It was just kind of one of those things that once it went in, I was like, alright, let’s move on, get ready for the next tee shot on eight.”

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