Bruce Smith sinks albatross to rescue round at Senior PGA Professional Championship

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – PGA Professional Bruce Smith of Frisco, Texas, is a rare golfer who finds as much joy in a well-placed kick in tae kwon do as he does in a timely shot on a golf course.

Playing the demanding Geronimo Course at Desert Mountain on Thursday in the 29th Senior PGA Professional Championship, Smith stunned himself by “bagging” a rare bird. The PGA Director of Instruction at Black Belt Golf Academy hit a 240-yard 3-hybrid into the cup on the 545-yard, par-5 14th hole for his first career “albatross” or the U.S. golfer-preferred double eagle.

The shot enabled Smith to recover from a front-nine 40 that included a quadruple bogey and bogey. He added a birdie at No. 15 to finish at even-par 72.

MORE: First round scores from Senior PPC | Photos from Desert Mountain | Full schedule

“I hit a big drive, and stood on a hybrid that went into the hills on the left. We never saw it,” said Smith. “I was looking around for the ball and I was ready to go back and hit another one when one of my partners looked in the hole and there it was.”

Smith owns a fourth degree black belt in tae kwon do.

“I could have shot 90 after that and it wouldn’t have mattered,” said Smith. “It was a little bit of Jekyll and Hyde out there. There was a lot of ping pong going on out there. I’ve had 15 holes-in-one in my life, but never a double eagle. It’s now off my bucket list.”

The Senior PGA Professional Championship is presented by Mercedes-Benz, and is supported by GolfAdvisor.com and John Deere.