VILLAGE OF PINEHURST, N.C. – Jeremy Bittner picked a fine time for his first ace. The 33-year-old from Moon Township, Pennsylvania, took a little off a 6-iron on the par-3 fourth hole at Pinehurst No. 6. The number on the laser was 187, downhill but into the wind.
Bittner’s ace is the first in championship history at the U.S. Adaptive Open. He donated the ball to the USGA Museum.
“When it disappeared, I was actually like, oh, no, what happened,” said Bittner, “and then everybody started screaming and I was like, oh, that was a good thing.
“For the next 10 minutes I was shaking.”
Bittner lost his lower left leg in a lawnmower accident when he was 4 years old. There are 33 players in the field of 96 competing in the leg impairment category. There are eight multiple limb amputees.
Players this week are competing from four different yardages ranging from 6,500 to 4,700. Men in the leg impairment category play the blue tees from 6,500 yards. Bittner shot 86-78 in the first two rounds and is in a share of 26th at 20 over.
South Korea’s Simon Lee is the only player under par at 2 under. He holds a two-shot lead over Felix Norman of Sweden. Both players are in intellectual impairment category.
“I didn’t have the strongest finish I’d like,” said Bittner, “but like you said, it’s a core memory that is going to stick with me no matter what the score was.”
