Hole in one for Hootie hotshot

WITH two US chart-topping albums, a Grammy award and a stellar solo career to his name, Darius Rucker of Hootie and the Blowfish has achieved a lot in 45 years.

He can now add a hole in one at Lahinch golf course in trying May conditions to that list.

Playing in the Great Irish Links challenge alongside former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino, Rucker, a die-hard Dolphins fan, navigated Lahinch’s tricky 11th hole, avoiding the bunker from hell to score a rare ace.

The shot was by no means a fluke. In fact Rucker takes his golf just as seriously as his music. Since 1995 he and the rest of the band have sponsored the annual Monday after the Masters pro-am golf tournament. The South Carolina man also sang at his Tiger Woods’ wedding.

Incredibly, Rucker’s was the second hole in one at the challenge in two days.

On Monday, Sydney native Alan Fairnsworth, in Ireland for his son’s wedding, managed to contend with phenomenal gales to hole his tee shot on Doonbeg’s 9th hole.

Ray Kearney of Doonbeg golf course said conditions made the feat all the more impressive. “It was unbelievable that a hole in one was shot on Monday because the winds were out of this world.”