Peter Jacobsen aces way up leaderboard

Peter Jacobsen knew his shot was good. Then he worried that it might have rolled over the green, like so many other at Pinehurst No. 2.

Not this one. Jacobsen's 7-iron was pure, and the ball plopped right into the hole on the 175-yard ninth hole after a couple of bounces for a hole-in-one Saturday in the third round of the U.S. Open, the first ace of the championship.

More importantly, it was part of a 1-under 69 that put the 51-year-old member of the Champions Tour in a tie for 11th.

Only leader Retief Goosen matched Jacobsen's score.

"If I said I thought I could win, I'd be lying,'' Jacobsen said. "I thought I could make the cut and play well. I've always been a fairly accurate driver, and always been a fairly good iron player. The U.S. Open is right down my alley.''

He hasn't been in an Open since 1996, when he tied for 23rd at Oakland Hills behind winner Steve Jones, so after a victory in the U.S. Senior Open a year ago, Jacobsen was quick to take advantage of the USGA exemption to play at the course where good friend Payne Stewart won in 1999.

Jacobsen has other fond memories of the Open, including a 67 in the final round in 1984 while paired with Tom Watson.

He also won a fictional Open championship in the movie "Tin Cup,'' taking advantage of an implosion on the final hole by Roy McAvoy, the character portrayed by Kevin Costner.

"That's the one I beat Don Johnson and Kevin Costner. That was easy,'' Jacobsen said. "Those guys are like 8-handicaps.''

This is the first time Jacobsen played on the weekend at a major since the 1997 PGA Championship, where he finished tied for 67th. And he has no illusions about what might happen Sunday.

"This may sound crazy, but just being here this week and playing well on Thursday and Friday and having a chance to play on the weekend is very special in itself,'' he said. "So whatever happens, whatever the USGA wanted to serve up, I was ready to take.''