Jim Benepe Has Solution for Trap on No. 6: He Makes a Hole in One

Jim Benepe doesn’t do things half way. He won the first tour tournament he ever entered, the Western Open in 1988.

He also figured out a way to beat the troublesome sixth hole at Riviera, the one with the sand trap in the middle. Playing Riviera for the first time Thursday, Benepe got a hole in one on the sixth hole, his first ever in competition.

Benepe, who used a 6-iron on the par-3, 163-yard hole, said: “I caught the ball high on my blade and I didn’t think it was going to get over a bunker. I said after I hit it, ‘Fly miles.’ ”

Benepe, who had started from the 10th hole, was 4 under par after his ace. However, he took a double bogey at the ninth hole when he 3-putted from 15 feet.

So Benepe, 25, from Sheridan, Wyo., had to settle for a 2-under-par 69.

“The hole in one is like being the high scorer for your team in basketball, but the team loses,” Benepe said.