Jonathan Byrd Captures Fourth PGA Tour Title with a Hole-in-One

By: Chris Lewis

5,000 to 1. According to Golf Digest, those are the odds of an individual making an ace in any given round. This past Sunday, four-time PGA Tour winner Jonathan Byrd was able to not only defeat these odds, but also attain a paycheck of $756,000 with his win at the 2010 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, hosted at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas, Nevada. Byrd has secured his status as a full-time member of the PGA Tour through the 2012 season, while becoming the first golfer in PGA Tour history to capture an event with a hole-in-one during a sudden-death playoff - a feat that will certainly be remembered for a long time.

As Byrd walked toward the tee box of the par - three 17th hole, measuring 196 yards, he was hoping he would be able to capture the tournament before darkness settled. Little did he know that he would earn the title with one of the most dramatic golf shots of the entire 2010 PGA Tour season. With a six - iron tee shot, Byrd's ball found the center of the cup and shattered the dreams of his fellow competitors - Cameron Percy, who was searching for his first PGA Tour victory, and Martin Laird, the tournament's defending champion.

Byrd almost never had an opportunity to even play the fourth hole of the playoff as he had barely missed hitting his approach shot into the water on the par-four 18th-the third hole of the playoff. His ball stopped just short of landing into a water hazard as he dramatically saved his par and kept his dreams of playoff success alive. Although Byrd had already found past success on the PGA Tour, with victories in the 2002 Buick Challenge, the 2004 B.C. Open, and the 2007 John Deere Classic, his win on Sunday just may be the most important-and emotional-victory of his career thus far.

After defeating Tim Clark at the 2007 John Deere Classic for his third victory in six years, the former PGA Tour Rookie of the Year struggled to consistently compete for tournaments due to distractions off the golf course. On July 7, 2009, his father passed away after a long battle with brain cancer, leading Byrd to focus his time and energy solely on his family rather than his golfing career. Nonetheless, Byrd courageously continued his golfing career on the PGA Tour and strived to once again become one of golf's rising stars.

His ace during Sunday's sudden-death playoff was significant not only for the amount of money and prestige that it delivered; it also showed Byrd and his fellow peers that he belonged and that he still had the ability and the confidence to play to the best of his ability and to win, in spite of intense pressure. Not only had Byrd overcome a three-year-long slump, he also realized once again that he has the ability to attain status as one of the game's most consistent players.

Upon achieving only the second ace of his PGA Tour career, Byrd said, "Its kind of hard to process (right now) because I'm still kind of in shock. I was trying to be considerate of my playing partners because two more guys had a chance to keep playing, and I didn't want to overreact. I'm numb, pretty much."

Prior to playing the fourth hole of the sudden death playoff, Byrd wanted to continue the playoff despite the darkness that was quickly approaching. Of course, looking back, Byrd will be pleased that he had an opportunity to play his 22nd hole of the day. "I kept thinking, 'You know what, I want to keep playing, I obviously want to win the golf tournament, but I haven't seen my wife and my kids in two weeks and I'm going to miss the flight tonight and we're going to be playing, so that doesn't sound too good.' It all worked out as (well) as it could have." With the win, Byrd finished the season with $1,534,981-good enough for 52nd place on the Tour's final money list.

In addition to securing his fourth Tour title and full-time Tour status for the next two seasons, Byrd has also once again attained a certain level of confidence that is necessary for continued success on the PGA Tour. Undoubtedly, this victory will certainly help Byrd as he prepares for the 2011 season and strives to collect his fifth Tour title.

On Sunday, Byrd overcame the odds to win in spectacular fashion. Now his peers may be wondering-what will he do next season to overcome the odds once again?