Daniel Hillier's Toed Ace at Open de Espana Wins Him a BMW SUV

Daniel Hillier made a hole-in-one he didn't even mean to hit on Thursday, and it came with a six-figure prize attached.

What happened on the 17th hole?

The 28-year-old New Zealander mis-struck his tee shot on the par-3 17th at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid during the first round of the Open de Espana. "I toed it quite a bit," Hillier said afterward. The ball held its line toward the front-left pin anyway and dropped for an ace, his fifth career hole-in-one.

What did Hillier win?

Thanks to a sponsor promotion tied to the hole, the ace came with a BMW iX5 SUV valued at 140,338 euros, or nearly $160,000. Hillier said he hadn't realized a car was on offer for the hole before his shot found the bottom of the cup.

How is Hillier playing this week?

The ace helped Hillier to an opening-round 67, four-under for the tournament. He added another birdie early in his second round Friday to move to five-under, four shots behind clubhouse leader Grant Forrest of Scotland.

Hillier, who won his first DP World Tour title at the 2023 British Masters and cracked the world top 100 earlier this year after winning the New Zealand Open, has now played in three of the four majors.