‘FANS DESERVED’ IT: CHASE EXPLAINS WHY HE TOSSED ACE BALL INTO STANDS

SENTOSA ISLAND, Singapore – Like everyone else at the Watering Hole during Sunday’s final round at LIV Golf Adelaide, Chase Koepka was swept up in the euphoria following his hole-in-one that sent the packed gallery surround the par-3 12th at The Grange into a frenzy.

After pulling the ball out of the cup, he pointed to various spots in the grandstands and eventually turned to his right to toss it into the gallery instead of keeping it for his own collection.

No regrets.

“It would’ve ended up going to my dad,” Koepka said Thursday on the eve of this week’s LIV Golf Singapore. “My dad keeps a bunch of that special stuff. But honestly, in the moment, I felt like the fans deserved that golf ball more than I did.”

The fan who caught the ball then exited the stands and went to the 13th tee to ask Koepka to sign it. The Smash GC member was happy to oblige.

“Glad he got to have that,” Koepka said. “He told me he was a member at The Grange, so that’s pretty crazy.”

Having a few days to process the moment, Koepka was still buzzing as he stood on the range Thursday at Sentosa Golf Club.

“I was not expecting anything like that to happen that epic. But it did,” Koepka said. “The crowd was amazing. In fact, I was getting standing ovations on every single tee I went to the rest of the day.

“It was a special moment for me, a special moment for my caddie, and a special moment for the fans in Adelaide. Can’t wait to get back there.

“Hopefully, we can make some more magic this week.”