Forster records ace in Sr. PGA PNC

SEASIDE, Calif. -- George Forster of Villanova, Pennsylvania, recorded the sixth hole-in-one of his career Saturday, his fifth in competition, on the par-3 17th hole of the Bayonet Course in the 27th Senior PGA Professional National Championship.

Forster, 59, the PGA Head Professional at Radnor Valley Country Club finished with a 1-over-par 71. He used a 7-iron for his ace on the 174-yard hole. He’ll enter Sunday’s final round at 4-under-par 212 and tied for 12th place.

“The pin was back-right and I had 173 to the pin, downhill, cross-wind right to left,” said Forester. ”I hit a 7-iron and we could not see it because of the glare. I wasn’t sure it cleared the hump or it came back 30 feet. So, we did not see it. Then we got down there [to the green] and it was in the hole.”

The ace instantly changed the outlook on Forster’s day, “I was struggling today because my back was bad, but I hung in there. Yeah, it [the hole-in-one] took me from 1-over on the day to 1-under. Big swing.”

Forster is competing in his 10th consecutive Senior PGA Professional National Championship.

Forster’s ace was the second of Championship. On Thursday afternoon, Randy Mitchell of Newark, Ohio, recorded the first competitive hole-in-one of his career, using a 5-iron on the 190-yard, par-3 sixth hole on the Bayonet Course.