The biggest golfer in major tournament history just made the biggest shot of his career.
Stepping up to the 16th hole at 6-foot-9, 300 lbs, Englishman Jonathan Thompson towered over tee at Royal St. George’s Golf Club during the second round of The Open Championship. Striking the ball with his custom-lengthened iron (6 inches added), the massive golfer showed some incredible touch — dropping the ball in for an ace on the 149-yard par 3.
After the hole-in-one dropped, broadcaster David Feherty highlighted Thompson’s unprecedented stature:
“6-foot-9. He has his own weather up there!”
Thompson’s home crowd went nuts for the outstanding shot.
🚨 ACE ALERT 🚨
6 foot, 9 inch Jonathan Thomson is standing tall at Royal St. George’s. pic.twitter.com/auWF5Xxfl4
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 16, 2021
Several well-known golfers in Open history have significant height, but none even come close to matching Thompson.
2009 Open Champion Stewart Cink stands 6-foot-4, three-time Open Champion Nick Faldo clocks in at 6-foot-3, as does 2002 Open Champion Ernie Els.
The tallest major champion in history is George Archer, who claimed a Masters victory in 1969 at 6-foot-5 and a half.
A few other golfers in history have come within a few inches of Thompson, but none of them ever competed in a major championship. 6-foot-7 Phil Blackmar was the tallest touring pro ever until 6-foot-8 Craig Smith took that title in 2005. 6-foot-8 Jordan Hahn tied that record earlier this year when he teed off in the Valspar Championship.
For Thompson though, playing in this week’s Open is a dream in itself. The larger-than-life golfer was once a small, scared child — diagnosed with leukemia at seven years old.
Limited in his ability to play contact sports, Thompson threw himself into golf.
“My No. 1 goal is to just enjoy the whole experience,” Thomson said in an interview with Golf Digest. “Look, back in the day, this was always the dream for me when I was lying in my hospital bed. I kept saying, ‘I’ll play in an Open.’ And now, qualifying for my first major, and it’s the Open. It’s pretty cool. There are no words.”
Though Thompson is just the No. 889 player in the world, he was able to qualify for The Open the old fashioned way at his home course of Hollinwell in Nottingham.
Thompson is currently 3-under on the day through 17 holes. His 2-under score for the tournament has him tied for 27th place in the field.
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