Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy scored a hole-in-one on his way to a 66 in the opening round at California’s Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The 35 year old achieved the feat from the tee on the par-three 15th hole at Spyglass Hill Golf Course, positioning him just two shots behind Thursday’s leader Russell Henley.

This marked McIlroy's second career ace, with his first coming during the 2023 Travellers Championship. "It’s such an elevated tee that the ball’s in the air and you know it’s online but you don’t know whether to say, ‘Go! ’ or ‘Sit! ’ or ‘Spin,’ or ‘Release’," McIlroy reflected on Thursday.

"You’re looking at it and you’re watching where it might land on the green and the thing just disappears.

"It was a good swing, a good wedge shot and it was obviously a nice little moment.

However, McIlroy wasn't the only one to score a hole-in-one that day. Irishman Shane Lowry also made one on the renowned par-3 seventh at Pebble Beach, landing short of the pin and rolling in.

After their successful day, Lowry took to X to call the ace the "shot of my dreams". Leading the field, Henley birdied his last two holes and finished the day on top.

The American scored eight under 64, one ahead of six others including Brit Justin Rose. The tournament also saw the return of Scottie Scheffler, who had missed a month of the Tour following a bizarre kitchen accident over Christmas.