John Parry

John Parry enjoyed a magical moment at The 153rd Open at Royal Portrush when he landed a hole-in-one on the 13th.

Going along nicely in his third round, the 38-year-old unleashed a bold tee shot – and was rewarded when his ball bounced just twice on the green before sinking into the cup to spark a huge roar from the nearby grandstand.

A teammate of Rory McIlroy and Danny Willett at the 2007 Walker Cup, Parry qualified for Portrush – his second appearance at The Open – thanks to his position in this season’s DP World Tour rankings, with the leading five non-exempt players on 6 July earning Open spots; Parry took the second of them at sixth in the standings.

This comes following his second victory in Mauritius in December, completed with a superb eight-under-par 64 after he began the final round five strokes behind.

It had been more than 14 years since his maiden success, but only two months later he was runner-up in the Magical Kenya Open – he kicked off that week with a 63 – and it took him to a personal best 91st in the world.

The Yorkshireman was also joint fourth in May’s Soudal Open and as an amateur lifted titles in Denmark and Spain.