'It was cool': Ollie Schniederjans aces fifth hole but misses cut at Rocket Mortgage Classic

Detroit — The shot went right in the hole, no putter needed, and Ollie Schniederjans didn't even have a hat on to tip to the crowd.

Schniederjans carded the first hole-in-one in Rocket Mortgage Classic history early Friday morning, using a pitching wedge from 144 yards at the par-5 fifth hole.

There wasn't a huge group around his threesome, maybe 20 fans or so — but those 20 fans or so got to see one heck of a golf shot, and they let Schniederjans know it.

"Yeah, a little bit," Schniederjans said. "It was cool."

One of those fans was Mark Moody of Mt. Pleasant. He was standing five feet from the tee box when Schniederjans made the swing.

"He threw his club in the air," said Moody, 61. "It's nice to see that pros get excited, too."

It easily was the highlight of the week for Schniederjans, 26, from Dallas. Even when it's your 11th hole-in-one, you still enjoy the heck out of it.

ROCKET MORTGAGE CLASSIC LIVE SCORING

A back-nine 40, featuring six bogeys, sent his score skyrocketing and he missed the cut at 3 over. He shot a 75 on Friday.

Still, he'll take positive memories from Detroit, thanks in large part to the ace.

"The course is great, and the tournament seems awesome. They set it up great," he said after signing his scorecard, and before departing Detroit Golf Club.

"And yeah, I'll have that hole-in-one memory."

As for why Schniederjans doesn't wear a hat — he's one of the only ones on the PGA Tour who don't — he's said in the past he stopped wearing hats when he finished Little League baseball, and even the sponsorship money that comes with wearing a logo ballcap wasn't enough to get him to change.

He told CBS Sports when he first came on Tour in 2015, "I don't feel like changing. ... I like how I feel and look."

Schniederjans does have a nice head of hair, though his golf game needs some work. A three-time All-American at Georgia Tech, he's now missed 14 of 24 cuts on the PGA Tour this season — despite a promising start to the calendar year, when he tied for 16th at the Players Championship, one of the marquee events.

Neal Rubin contributed to this report.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @tonypaul1984