logo
‘Greatest shot in the history of golf' – World No284 unlocks secret of Oakmont with insane 122-yard PUTT before US Open

‘Greatest shot in the history of golf' – World No284 unlocks secret of Oakmont with insane 122-yard PUTT before US Open

The Irish Suna day ago

GOLF star Zac Blair has come up with a genius plan to tackle the "hardest course in the world".
The US Open gets underway at Oakmont Country Club, Pennsylvania tomorrow.
Advertisement
6
Zac Blair has unlocked an Oakmont hack
Credit: @AndyTFE
6
Fans have called it the 'best shot in history'
Credit: @AndyTFE
6
He putted straight onto the green from 122 yards
Credit: @AndyTFE
Build-up to the third major of the year has been dominated by concerns from top players over the
The sloped greens have been called "lightening quick" and the incredibly thick rough stands at five inches tall.
But Blair has a method to get around the problem on hole one.
The world No284 took to the course for a practice round today and pulled out his putter 122 yards away from the hole.
Advertisement
He gave the ball a firm whack and it rolled all the way down the steep fairway and onto the green, stopping in a perfect position.
Fans were left stunned, with one saying: "No exaggeration, that might have been the greatest shot in the history of golf."
Another added: "This is the play."
A third commented: "That's elite."
Advertisement
Most read in Golf
BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK
6
Blair, 34, who hails from Salt Lake City, has never won a PGA Tour title.
Several of his rivals have voiced concerns over the course, with world No1
branding the venue the "hardest course in the world".
Advertisement
DeChambeau and Rose's response to how club golfers would cope at Oakmont US Open course
Two-time US Open winner Bryson DeChambeau said: "This course doesn't just challenge your game, it
Former major champion
added: "This course is built to be like this.
"You hit a good shot, you get rewarded for it here. And if you don't, you're in big trouble. It's pure golf, no funny business about it.'
6
Thick rough is set to give players a nightmare
Credit: EPA
Advertisement
6
The course has been called 'lightening quick'
Credit: AP

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

'It went from my least favourite major to my favourite' - Rory McIlroy's mind sharpens as Oakmont looms
'It went from my least favourite major to my favourite' - Rory McIlroy's mind sharpens as Oakmont looms

Irish Examiner

timean hour ago

  • Irish Examiner

'It went from my least favourite major to my favourite' - Rory McIlroy's mind sharpens as Oakmont looms

Plans and targets, goals and motivations, the driving why, the guiding north star. Rory McIlroy, it is clear, doesn't really have any of the above right now. Not like he had them before April 13, anyway. But eight-plus weeks of shrugging and pausing and pensive pondering, hasn't stopped McIlroy being pressed on all of the above either. Tuesday at Oakmont was another such occasion. In its setting and presentation it's a pre-tournament press conference but for the post-Augusta 2025 version of McIlroy, such things have become something else. Lifestyle therapy session meets corporate job interview meets high-performance podcast. Interspersed between the enquiries around his driver, the devilish rough around Oakmont and strength versus length, McIlroy was pushed on a 'five-year plan for this next phase of Rory' and 'resetting difficulties' and 'regaining motivation' in his professional life. The tone is such that McIlroy might swivel in his chair and see he was in fact joined at the top table by fellow panellists such as Tony Robbins or Marie Kondo. The Japanese organisational guru may love mess. McIlroy doesn't. But on the course things have been messy since the Masters. Last week in Toronto they were a holy show. This week, Oakmont's wild fringes are primed to make a shambles of US Open scorecards for those who aren't completely locked in. That's something McIlroy knows this all too well. In between the pauses and deep-ish thoughts, he revealed that he needed back-to-back closing birdies to avoid carding an 81 during a practice session at the Pittsburgh course last week. Tuesday's nine-hole tune-up alongside Shane Lowry, the friends setting off at first light, had thankfully gone a good bit better. But back to that five-year plan? "I don't have one,' McIlroy replied. 'I have no idea.' At Augusta McIlroy lifted 11 years of slow-seeping existential dread. Then he lifted a replica of the clubhouse and put on a green jacket. Since, he's not had so much as a five-day plan. Last weekend, when a first missed cut of the year gave him unexpected time off, he spent some of it playing tennis with Harry Diamond. Hobbies are more important to him now. He's been travelling with the family too. Motivations, quirky things at the best of times, have changed. It was striking that after McIlroy left the interview room, Bryson DeChambeau followed him in. The tone was…different. The reigning champion, who held strong when McIlroy imploded at Pinehurst last year, was asked about his motivations. "Doing it for the fans, patrons and the people that are viewing myself on YouTube,' DeChambeau replied. 'That's really what gets me up in the morning.' More YouTube then, Rory. Yet the McIlroy mind has sharpened. Landing in to the week of a tournament which 'went from probably my least favourite major to probably my favourite because of what it asks from you' does that. 'I think it's [about] trying to have a little bit of amnesia and forget about what happened six weeks ago,' McIlroy said. 'I worked incredibly hard on my game from October last year all the way up until April this year. It was nice to sort of see the fruits of my labour come to fruition and have everything happen. You have to enjoy that. 'At some point, you have to realize that there's a little bit more golf left to play this season: here, Portrush, Ryder Cup. Those are obviously the three big things that I'm looking at.' Oakmont wasn't kind to him in 2016. It kicked off a run of three-straight missed US Open cuts. Since, he has six top-10s in a row with back-to-back second-place finishes. To extend that run, many things have to be fixed. But first thing's first. The opening tee shot and the biggest club in the bag which will be used to hit it. Having quickly returned to Florida from Toronto Friday, McIlroy was asked what he had learned at home? 'I learned that I wasn't using the right driver,' he replied to laughter. During his back nine practice with Lowry, McIlroy used a TaylorMade Qi10 driver. That was the model he swung to success at the Masters only to see his favoured one fail a compliance test prior to the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow. Since then things have been far from reliable as he cycled between replacements and the Qi35 model which let him down in Canada. 'Every driver has its own character and you're trying to manage the misses,' McIlroy said. 'As the last few weeks go, I learnt a lot on Thursday and Friday last week and did a good bit of practice at home and feel like I'm in a better place with everything going into this week.' Asked how big an impact it had made at Quail Hollow not to have his 'gamer' driver, McIlroy pointed to the eventual winner: 'it wasn't a big deal for Scottie, so it shouldn't have been a big deal for me.' On Tuesday morning he found some fairways. The course had mercifully been giving a soaking since the week before. 'There's definitely been a little bit of rain since. Last Monday felt impossible. I birdied the last two holes for 81. It didn't feel like I played that bad,' he said. "I'm glad we have spotters up there because I played last Monday and you hit a ball off the fairway and you were looking for a good couple of minutes just to find it. It's very penal if you miss. "But the person with the most patience and the best attitude this week is the one that's going to win.'

WATCH: Patrick Reed makes just the fourth-ever albatross in US Open history
WATCH: Patrick Reed makes just the fourth-ever albatross in US Open history

The 42

timean hour ago

  • The 42

WATCH: Patrick Reed makes just the fourth-ever albatross in US Open history

PATRICK REED GOT his US Open off to a flying start on Thursday as he made just the fourth-ever recorded albatross in tournament history. Facing a 286-yard approach at Oakmont's par-five fourth, Reed's second shot took a couple of hops on the green before rolling the final few feet into the cup. Reed joins TC Chen (Oakland Hills, 1985), Shaun Micheel (Pebble Beach 2010) and Nick Watney (Olympic Club 2012) in an elite group of players to make an albatross at the US Open since records began. Advertisement

Mum shares Appleby haul with ‘Gucci sliders' & fake Chanel – as people say she'd ‘absolutely love Turkey'
Mum shares Appleby haul with ‘Gucci sliders' & fake Chanel – as people say she'd ‘absolutely love Turkey'

The Irish Sun

timean hour ago

  • The Irish Sun

Mum shares Appleby haul with ‘Gucci sliders' & fake Chanel – as people say she'd ‘absolutely love Turkey'

THOUSANDS of travellers gathered for Appleby Horse Fair as the annual event kicked off last week. Tens of thousands of 5 Horsemen and women were been seen riding their horses in the nearby River Eden Credit: AP 5 One mum managed to bag a mega haul after visiting the six-day event last week Credit: tiktok/@sineadsmithx1 5 The epic haul also included this Chanel knock-off for just £40 Credit: tiktok/@sineadsmithx1 The six-day event typically features traditional music, dancing, horse riding, market stalls and horse sales. Amongst the visitors was also mum Sinead Smith who managed to drive home with a mega haul of cut-price Sinead, who is 28, has been going to the event ''every year'' and last week's festivities saw her bag numerous goodies. read more on fashion The mum shared the epic haul on TikTok, showing off knock-offs of the on-trend ''I bought everything on Sunday morning because they bring the prices down,'' Sinead explained in The mega haul also included stunning gym sets in sage and baby blue, which looked like a Lululemon fake. While the posh jacket alone would set you back more than £100, Sinead said she paid ''£70 for the lot''. Most read in Fabulous Chuffed with the wallet-friendly finds, the bargain-mad mother also showed off knock-offs for Nike trainers that cost her just a tenner, a few pairs of ''Gucci sandals'' going for £10, as well as gold Louis Vuitton-style sliders. ''£25 - I paid a tenner for them,'' Sinead said. I've found the best little-known store for designer bargains - there's Gucci, Louboutins, Versace and more for cheap Meanwhile, the real ''star of the show'' was the ''matching'' Chanel knock-off purse. ''All weekend I'd wanted a version of this and I'd seen them but they were like £120, £110. ''I think the cheapest I seen was £70 and I thought 'It's not too bad but I still don't want to pay that for a fake bag'.'' Is it Illegal to Buy 'Designer' Dupes in Turkey? In Turkey, buying counterfeit goods is generally considered illegal. If you buy a counterfeit product for personal use, you're unlikely to be prosecuted against - unless your purchase involves a significant quantity or the intent to resell. Customs authorities have the power to stop and seize counterfeit goods entering or leaving Turkey. That means they can stop you upon your return home and seize any designer dupes you've bought on holiday. Luckily for the bargain hunter, who posts under the username @ ''I couldn't believe it, it's absolutely beautiful and I love it.'' Pleased with the goodies she went home with, Sinead dubbed the horse hair ''dupe central''. ''There's about 100/150 stalls at Appleby. Something for everyone, it is great.'' 'You'd absolutely love Turkey' Sinead's bargain haul has clearly left many open-mouthed, as the video has racked up close to 200k views in just two days. More than 120 people flooded to comments, where one joked: ''I tell you what , you'd absolutely love The popular holiday destination has long been regarded as the 'capital of fakes' among Brits looking to rock designer styles for the price of a coffee. A quick four hour flight could land you in a bustling market flogging 'Gucci belts' for £3 and Louis 'Fuitton' handbags for £20. Another visitor chimed in: ''There was some lovely stuff there just the rain was a downer.'' Someone else said: ''I never knew Appleby sells like clothes n that. Might have to go next year.'' ''Lovely stuff, I went to Appleby years ago and had an amazing time,'' a viewer penned. 5 A goat was seen on the back of a horse drawn cart during the annual horse fair Credit: Reuters 5 Travellers lined the roads ahead of the six-day event Credit: LNP

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store