Kevin O’Connell Had to Receive Medical Attention After His Ace

Many would say that hitting an ace is an incredible experience and a moment where you can’t even breathe. That became all too real for Kevin O’Connell at Pebble Beach this weekend.

O’Connell was a big-time winner in 2018 when he won the U.S. Mid Amateur Championship. That win brought O’Connell a lot of invites to PGA TOUR majors this year. After missing the cut at the Masters, O’Connell is trying his luck at Pebble Beach for the U.S. Open. And O’Connell started off with a bang, hitting an ace at the iconic 7th hole during a practice round on Tuesday.

But the excitement from Kevin’s hole-in-one was short lived. Right after his group finished up on the seventh, O’Connell broke away from the pairing. A medical team was called in to examine O’Connell when he became violently ill.

As it turns out, his illness wasn’t from the excitement of a hole-in-one but instead something much more serious.

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Josh Beall of Golf Digest described the scene over Twitter. “When walking up the par-4 eighth, O’Connell broke from his group and veered off to the right,” Beall wrote. “This has been a common sight this week, with many players grabbing their phones to snap photos of the countless scenic vistas off the coastline. However, it became quickly apparent that O’Connell was not soaking in the panorama, putting his hands on his knees and bending at the waist.”

Once the vomiting started, O’Connell received medical attention and his group moved on. O’Connell’s caddie stated after the incident that O’Connell had been battling severe stomach pains the entire morning. After receiving medical attention for about 20 minutes, O’Connell was taken off on a medical vehicle.

In the end Kevin’s affliction proved to be the results of severe food-poisoning.  Despite the medical scare, O’Connell did still participate in the first round of the U.S. Open, shooting +5.

Even with the medical scare, I’m sure that O’Connell will have fond memories of this experience. And if he can string together a strong round on Friday, that experience could extend into the weekend.

Cover Photo via Twitter