FLOURTOWN, Pa. (AP) — With the tease of a possible ace on each tee shot, golf fan Jason Brown hunkered down early at the Philadelphia Cricket Club’s 14th hole. This was no ordinary par-3, and Brown — like most of the fans who crowded the area — had to take a look at not only the shortest hole in the Truist Championship, it was the shortest par-3 for a regular PGA Tour event in decades.
Try a taut 95 yards.
Leave the driver and the power game in the bag. Heck, forget the rangefinder. Take aim instead on a hole shorter than a football field and let the birdies fly.
It was the rare hole that let the country club members and weekday warriors at the Wissahickon Course dream for a moment that, yes, they could play every bit as well as Keegan Bradley, Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler or any other pro that took aim at the hole.
At the very least, fans considered how they would use the bag.
“I would just hit a three-quarter pitching wedge,” the 54-year-old Brown said. “If I hit a sand wedge off the tee, I’d probably take a chunk. Try to hit it a little long, maybe spin it down.”
The move is a nod to Philly Cricket’s original St. Martins Course, built in 1895. Expanded to 18 holes in 1897, the course hosted the U.S. Open in 1907 and 1910.
At the U.S. Open in 2023, the 15th hole at Los Angeles Country Club played 81 yards in the third round.
But since the debut of Shotlink, a real-time golf shot tracking system used by the PGA TOUR that started in 1983, no non-major event has ever had a hole as pint-sized as the one Sunday.
Tom Hoge, who has one career Tour victory, said he used a 60-degree wedge on the hole and finished 14 at par.
“I think it’s cool from a player’s point of view,” he said. “you stand there with a sand wedge in your hand and you think, if you hit a good shot, you’ve got a good shot at the hole.”
The hole with a green protected by deep bunkers had a pitch-and-putt feel, and normally plays at 105 yards for members. Except for the golden, airy fescue, the hole might have seemed more at home at Top Golf.
The first round played at 109 yards, with 24 birdies and 12 bogies; the second round played at 117 yards and 70 of 72 players shot a birdie or at par; and windy third round on Saturday that blew the ball right at 127 yards had 65 players score a birdie or par.
The hole — which shared a tee box with the par-4 No. 4 hole that stretched beyond 400 yards — failed to produce an ace in the tournament won by Sepp Straka.
“I think good short par-3s are, I wouldn’t say lost in modern golf architecture, but they’re rare, and much more rare. That one is just the perfect example,” said Keith Mitchell, who shot a career-best 9-under 61 on Friday.
Sean Kaufmann, of nearby Conshohocken, plays golf twice a week as a member of the 1912 Club. He surveyed the hole and figured he’d use a 52-degree wedge, land the ball in the center of the green and two-putt for par.
“Nothing crazy,” he said. “I don’t think I’m spinning it on command or anything. Nice and easy.”
Easier said behind the ropes than done, of course, at a rare PGA stop in the Northeast.
“I’d probably shank it with this many people watching,” Kaufmann said with a laugh.
Most players never played a hole so snug as a professional.
Justin Thomas, who tries to win his third career PGA Championship next weekend at Quail Hollow, said he enjoyed No. 14 as much as any on the course with roots in the 1800s.
“I don’t dislike any of them. I think 14 is an awesome hole, the short par-3,” Thomas said. “I will take that to my grave that short par-3s are just so much better than any long par-3. I don’t think I’ve ever played a par-3 over 200 yards that I would call memorable for its design versus it seems like all par-3s that are short like that are great. So I think holes like that are fun.”
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Robert MacIntyre, of Scotland, hits on the 14th hole during the final round of the Truist Championship golf tournament at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, Sunday, May 11, 2025, in Flourtown. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Andrew Novak hits on the 14th hole during the final round of the Truist Championship golf tournament at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, Sunday, May 11, 2025, in Flourtown. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
