The Great ‘1’: Wayne Gretzky Makes His First Hole-in-1
Sure, Dustin Johnson deserves bragging rights on the PGA Tour for a while, thanks to his runaway victory in the Masters Tournament. But you just know he spent New Year’s Day hearing all about future father-in-law Wayne Gretzky‘s golfing exploits rather than his own on the family’s Zoom chat.
For all he achieved in 2020 on the PGA Tour, Johnson did not register a hole-in-one. Gretzky went right down to the wire to do it, but he scored his first career ace on the last day of 2020.
Wayne Gretzky was rightfully labeled ‘The Great One’
Wayne Gretzky is the NHL’s career leader in goals by a comfortable margin and in assists by an outlandish one, making him the league’s most prolific force on offense ever. No other player has ever posted 200 points in a season, but Gretzky did it four times in five seasons during a 20-year career.
The regular-season achievements alone merit Gretzky’s nickname – “The Great One” – but his numbers from the postseason, when the checking is tighter and competition better, impress every bit as much. The nine-time league MVP totaled 122 goals and 260 assists in 208 playoff games.
On top of everything else, Gretzky won the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship five times. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame immediately after retirement, and the NHL retired his No. 99 league-wide.
Dustin Johnson is the family’s golf star
Dustin Johnson and Paulina Gretzky, the daughter of hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, have been engaged since 2013 and have two young sons. While many hockey players are known to be good golfers – their offseason coincides with the prime time of the year to be on the course – Johnson plays the sport for real and for big money.
Johnson has won 24 times on the PGA Tour, including the 2016 U.S. Open and 2020 Masters. Since joining the tour full-time in 2008, he has won more than $70.7 million and finished in the top 10 on the money list the past six seasons.
Winning the Travelers Championship last June 28 gave Johnson a victory in each of his first 13 seasons. Only Jack Nicklaus (17) and Tiger Woods (14) began their careers with longer streaks.
What he didn’t do in 2020 was make a hole-in-one, which gave him something in common with Wayne Gretzky … until the 366th day of the year.
Wayne Gretzky records his first hole-in-one
Playing a round of golf on Dec. 31, 2020, retired hockey legend Wayne Gretzky recorded the first hole-in-one of his career. According to TMZ, Gretzky was playing at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California. He pulled out a 9-iron at the 140-yard sixth hole and aced it.
The website reported that future son-in-law Dustin Johnson called Gretzky from Hawaii to congratulate him on the feat. Wife Janet Jones went on Instagram to share the news with friends and followers.
“What a way to wrap up 2020,” she wrote. “Bring on 2021 we have been waiting for you.”
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