A hole-in-one with Kevin Costner, free flights, new trophy, and other ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic notes
Myrtle Beach native and The Dunes Golf and Beach Club member Patrick Marino holed a 9-iron on the 155-yard 12th hole Wednesday for his second ever hole-in-one.
What made the moment even more unique and special? He was playing with legendary actor Kevin Costner.
“It was very cool, especially on your home course that you grew up on. Unbelievable. Unbelievable,” Marino said. “I joked with him and said, ‘Kev, you don’t need to hit, just pick it up.’ . . . What a special moment to do that. My mom was there, my uncle was there and a bunch of buddies were there so it was pretty cool. To be able to do one like that it’s rare and special.”
The indelible moment came during the PGA Tour’s ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic pro-am, and is the result of ONEflight International CEO Ferren Rajput’s vision for the event to become more than just a four-round competitive golf tournament.
Rajput flew in approximately 20 celebrities from London and around the U.S. including California, Texas, New York, Florida, Denver and Nashville to participate in the pro-am. They included Costner, Kurt Russell, Rob Riggle, Michael Chiklis, David Arquette, Nick Swisher and Jennie Garth. Bill Murray, a Charleston area resident, also made an appearance at the course, though he didn’t play in the pro-am.
Rajput vows to continue the celebrity theme next year, and to brainstorm other ways to elevate the event.
“Now the stage is set . . . so we will continue this whole celebrity thing year to year as long as we’re here. I’ve got a lot of celebrities and a lot of great friends,” Rajput said. “. . . I’m the guy that says what I did today has to get better next year. I do that with everything. So I’ll come up with something.
