Colin Healy ’25

Sports Editor & Writer

The albatross: a score of 3-under on a single hole. Tucked in between the ace and the eagle, it’s arguably the hardest accomplishment in the game of golf, even harder than the coveted hole-in-one. Making one is a rarity, even at the professional level. But on September 4th, Owen Egan and Christian Emmerich of the HC men’s golf team pulled off the unimaginable: they both made 2’s on a par-5 hole. On the same hole. In the same group.

Playing the par-5, 494 yard eighth hole at Blackstone National Golf Club, the pair stepped up to the tee knowing they could score on the hole. “Owen and I both took aggressive lines off the tee in order to have a shorter distance in,” Emmerich told The Spire. “We both executed the drives perfectly and succeeded in having short irons in.” Emmerich had 160 yards left to the flag for his second shot, prime position to play the hole under par. He hit his approach first and landed a well-struck 8-iron just left of the hole, then saw his ball disappear on the green. “I threw my club up in the air and high-fived everyone in the group,” said the senior. The group included Egan, first-year Matt Williams, and head coach Steve Napoli, who had been following the group. This one albatross would have been enough to make for a great story, but Egan still had to hit his second shot.

As Egan, a sophomore, stepped up to hit his approach, adrenaline was still running high. “Getting over my shot, I was definitely still shaken up from what had just occurred. I was just trying to get my shot somewhere close to the pin, but wasn’t even thinking about actually making the shot,” said Egan. With only 125 yards to the pin thanks to his huge drive, he decided to go with a 50-degree wedge for his second. The shot spun on the green and tracked right into the hole, joining Emmerich’s ball at the bottom of the cup. And, as one can imagine, pandemonium ensued. “Christian threw his bag and we ran at each other and gave one another a huge chest bump. It was crazy,” Egan said in describing the moment. “It didn’t really occur to me until the next hole that what had just happened may be history.” 

Social media accounts for the men’s team posted about what had happened shortly after the completion of the round. Needless to say, the two soon began to take the golf world by storm. All the publicity could well likely be the first of its kind given the improbability of making an albatross. They made it twice, of course, and in the same group on the same hole.

 Since making the albatrosses, Egan and Emmerich have been featured in an article online at Golf Digest, and were invited onto the Golf Channel for an interview. They have garnered a lot of attention not only for themselves, but for Holy Cross and the golf program. “The exposure we have gotten for the team and the school has been remarkable,” said Emmerich of the way the story has taken off. 

Besides trending on social media, Egan, Emmerich, and the team as a whole are trending in the right direction as their season gets underway. Emmerich, who competed in the U.S. Amateur over the summer, is looking forward to putting the momentum to use. “We have all had great summers coming into this year and are excited to get the season started,” he said. “Our team has a ton of talent and I’m super excited to get the season started,” added Egan, echoing his playing partner’s enthusiasm.

The two albatrosses have given the squad an unlikely, but welcome, boost. With the Dartmouth Invitational due up next week, Egan, Emmerich, and the rest of the team will look to keep soaring.