Watch: Jerry Kelly hits an ace on the 17th hole of Sanford International course

This Sunday, September 17, was a very active day in the world of golf, but Jerry Kelly was responsible for setting the tone spectacularity. It happened at Minnehaha Country Club in South Dakota, where Kelly was playing in the PGA Tour Champions Sanford International.

Jerry Kelly hit an ace on the 17th hole at Minnehaha during the third and final round of the Sanford International. It is a 186-yard, par-3 hole on which Kelly chose a hybrid for his first shot.

His execution was so tight that the ball landed directly on the green, about 30 feet from the hole. The shot gave the ball enough momentum to roll across the green, taking advantage of a small slope. The movement was so lucky that the ball went cleanly into the hole.

It was the second eagle of the tournament for Jerry Kelly, who made one on the fourth hole the day before. Kelly finished on 8-under 202 and is tied for 14th, pending the end of the tournament.

Korean K.J. Choi and American Steve Stricker are leading the tournament, although several players have yet to complete their third rounds. The field includes several historic players such as John Daly, Ernie Els and Jim Furyk.

Who is Jerry Kelly?

Jerry Kelly, 56, made his professional debut in 1989. He began playing in some developmental tournaments before joining the Korn Ferry Tour for three seasons (1993, '94, '95).

He made his debut on the PGA Tour in 1991, but did not officially join until 1996. He continued to play at that level until 2016, although he continued to play occasional tournaments through the 2023 season.

On the PGA Tour, he participated in 627 tournaments, with three victories. These victories were the 2002 Sony Open in Hawaii, the 2002 Advil Western Open and the 2009 Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Other interesting results for Jerry Kelly were his seven runner-up finishes and his 38 top-5 finishes. He made the cut in 402 of the tournaments he played.

His performance in the majors included a T5 at the Masters (2007), two T26s at the PGA Championship (1999, 2011), a T7 at the U.S. Open (2007) and a T26 at the Open Championship (2006).

His career on the PGA Tour Champions has been much more successful. He debuted on this circuit in 2017, he has participated in 146 tournaments without missing the cut in any of them. He has won 11 tournaments, with nine runner-up finishes and another 60 top 10s.

In the current senior season, he has played in 17 tournaments. He has not won, but he has finished second in one event (Principal Charity Classic). He has finished in the top 10 six other times. He has finished outside the top 30 only four times.