Lightning Strikes Twice For Local Golfer

By Joe Yasharoff
CSNwashington.com Contributer

For most golfers, a hole-in-one is very hard to come by if not downright impossible. The odds of an amateur getting one are about 12,000 to 1 according to Golf Digest.

Meet Reeves Barbour, a 30 year old native of Mississippi who fancies himself a "weekend warrior". But unlike most weekend golfers, Barbour is a 1 handicapper and a member at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Va. Last Sunday, Barbour was playing in a season-ending tournament at RTJ when he did the unthinkable. He made not one but two holes-in-one in one round. That's right. Two aces in one round!

The first came at the 9th hole, a 174 yard par 3. Barbour hit a 7 iron that one-hopped into the cup for an ace. Or did it? Barbour and his playing partners could not tell for sure from the tee because the sun was shining right in their eyes. When they walked up to the hole they confirmed that the ball had indeed gone in. Barbour was obviously thrilled but was in the midst of a tournament so he didn't feel like he could call the world to tell them about it. He did find time to text his wife though. Smart man.

After parring the 10th hole, he came to another par 3, the 161 yard 11th hole. Using an 8 iron this time he flew it in the hole for another ace. There was no doubt about this one. He saw and heard the ball go in the hole for his second ace in three holes. Barbour said it was a "really, really awesome feeling." How's that for the understatement of the century? By the way, he texted his wife again and she couldn't believe it. Would you believe someone if they texted you 35 minutes apart saying they had two holes-in-one? Yeah right.

Longtime RTJ head pro Cary Sciorra, who has four holes-in-one in his career, said no one has ever had two aces in one round at RTJ.

The odds of making two holes-in-one in one round are 67 million to 1 according to Golf Digest! (By the way, how do they come with these odds?) It has happened before but it's unclear just how many times. It definitely happened 13 years ago at one the other great courses in our area, Congressional Country Club. Ryan Sullivan, then 15, aced the 2nd and 12th holes during a round at the famed Blue Course in 1996 according to the head pro there John Lyberger.

I'm not sure if anyone in the history of golf has had two aces in a three hole span before so Barbour may very well be the only one to do so. As far as he knows, he is the only golfer in history to accomplish that feat.

Here are some other things you might find interesting about his round:

-Barbour used only one ball for all 18 holes. Now you may ask yourself why in the world would someone not hold onto a ball after getting a hole-in-one? And then again after his second ace? What if he had lost it? Barbour said he was playing well and didn't want to change a thing. He later told me he had already had two holes-in-one before his magical round so maybe his third and fourth aces were not as special as his first.

-Barbour shot a 72 for his round and like you would expect from any competitive golfer he was lamenting about what could have been had he not had six three-putts.

-One of the perks of Barbour's historic day is that Vice President Joe Biden requested to play with him. Biden was actually playing at RTJ with friends that day and heard about Barbour's amazing feat. Barbour said he would be "deeply honored and humbled" to play with Biden, something he hopes will happen in the not too distant future.

By the way, if the name Barbour rings a bell, Reeves is the son of current Mississippi governor Haley Barbour. When he called his parents after the round, he told them that he gets to keep the flags from both holes. His dad wondered how they would fit the flag and the pin in his office. Reeves explained it's only the flags he gets to keep and not the metal poles that are attached.

And if you're wondering, Barbour did go out and buy lottery tickets later that day but did not win. He had already hit the lottery.

ENTER YOUR ZIP CODE
CSN
HD
CSN+