Getty Josh Allen reacts to a play during the American Century Classic celebrity golf tournament.
Buffalo Bills Josh Allen came just about as close to perfect as possible on the golf course, coming within inches of hitting a hole-in-one in the 2023 American Century Championship celebrity tournament on Sunday.
Allen entered play on July 16 near the middle of the leaderboard, showing a strong performance against the group of celebrities and fellow athletes. Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry had amazed the crowd by hitting a hole-in-one earlier at the tournament, and Allen nearly matched his accomplishment on Sunday with a shot that missed by mere inches.
Fans React to Josh Allen’s Amazing Shot
Allen’s near-perfect shot came in Sunday’s final round, as he stood at No. 35 on the leaderboard. He hit the opening Par 3 shot just past the hole, but it rolled backward toward the hole and went just left before coming to a rest a few feet away.
Josh Allen was just INCHES away from a hole-in-one at the @ACChampionship! #BillsMafia
Allen appeared exasperated at the almost-ace, then got a hug from Patrick Mahomes. The Bills quarterback went on to nail the short putt to make a birdie on the hole.
The shot captured some viral attention, with many fans sharing some praise for Allen and his feat in a video shared on Twitter by NBC Sports.
“Saw that live. Swing looked like a tour pro,” one person tweeted in reply.
“Great shot!” another wrote.
The Bills quarterback attracted some attention earlier in the tournament with a different athletic accomplishment. The tournament has a basketball hoop set up outside the 17th hole, with many of the players stopping to take a shot at it. Fans implored Allen to give an attempt, telling him that Mahomes had nailed a long shot earlier in the day.
Allen one-upped his AFC rival, nailing a long shot and eliciting a cheer from the crowd.
Allen ended the tournament tied for 37th, beating out a number of fellow NFL stars from past and present including Mahomes and former Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Josh Allen’s Golf Reputation Grows
Sunday’s feat added a new accomplishment to Allen’s budding golf career. He has become a fixture of the celebrity golf circuit, skipping the Pro Bowl in each of the past two seasons in order to compete in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He also took part in The Match, a televised competition where he and Mahomes took on Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers.
Allen has also become a famous fan, joining onetime rival quarterback and friend Sam Darnold to attend The Masters in 2022 and following along with Tiger Woods at the PGA’s Genesis Invitational in February, the first non-Masters tournament for Woods in nearly three years as he worked his way back from injuries.
Allen said he dreams of playing golf with Woods one day and would want to take on a pair of basketball legends.
“Obviously I’d want to be with Tiger,” he told Golf.com. “Big Tiger Woods fan. Who would I want to compete against? Steph Curry and Michael Jordan on the other side. I think that would be a good matchup.”
Allen got the chance to check off at least one of those things this weekend. Curry won the tournament on the strength of his hole-in-one earlier in the weekend.