A Cheyenne Mountain High School golfer turned an otherwise frustrating Tuesday into one of the most memorable days of his prep career, draining an ace during a tournament at Patty Jewett Golf Course and adding an eagle at a subsequent team practice.
Mullins was playing the par-3 11th hole, a 148-yard shot, during the Palmer Terror Invitational when he reached for his pitching wedge. The result surprised even him. He described the shot afterward as less than his best, and said he expected nothing more demanding than a short putt once he reached the green.
What greeted him instead was a celebration. When Mullins reached the putting surface, he was met with cheers, whistles, and applause — the ball had already found the bottom of the cup for his first career hole-in-one. He said the moment required some convincing. "I knew it was near, but it was never a thought in my mind that it went in," he said. "It landed and kicked a little bit right and I'm thinking 'That won't be too bad.' Then a group on the green started cheering. At that point, I thought they were messing with me. I looked again and I saw coaches clapping and whistling and that's when I knew it really went in."
The ace was all the more striking given what had unfolded just minutes before. At the preceding hole, the 10th, Mullins hit his tee shot from the incorrect tee box, drawing a two-stroke penalty and forcing him to replay the shot. "The most annoying part about that was my balls were about 10 feet away from each other," he said. "I made par, but with the penalty that was a double [bogey]. I walked up to 11 tee just wanting to hit and be done because that round frustrated me. Then I hit it and it went in."
Mullins wrapped up the tournament in a tie for seventh place, carding a 4-over-par 76, and his team, the Red-Tailed Hawks, finished third overall. The standout play didn't stop there. That same day, at a Red-Tailed Hawks practice session held at The Broadmoor Golf Club, Mullins holed out for an eagle on the second hole of the east course.
Mullins was candid about his expectations for sustaining that level of play. "That's probably the end of that run. This was a cool something," he said. "I texted my mom and she was like, 'You better get a lottery ticket, they come in threes.' But this is just a fast little run that'll probably die out soon."
Mullins and several of his Red-Tailed Hawks teammates are scheduled to travel to Denver next to compete in the Cherry Creek Invitational, held at Overland Park Golf Course, where it remains to be seen whether his recent form will continue.