Steaming after walking off the 16th green with a double-bogey six, Carter was hoping for little more than a well-executed shot that found the green to get his third round at Kalgoorlie back on track.

Instead, his 8-iron from 178 metres just covered the front edge of the green and then rolled up and dropped straight into the hole.

A PGA of Australia Associate at The Stirling Golf Club south of Adelaide, Carter knew by the reaction of officials behind the green that the fourth hole-in-one of his career came with a significant reward.

“The only thing left was to make sure I was the first one to get it. But we had the reaction on 17 so it was like, It’s mine,” said Carter.

“It’s definitely mine, because the ladies went nuts behind the green. There it is, I’ve won it.”

It was an extraordinary response to a double-bogey that threatened to drop him out of the WA PGA top-10.

“I hit probably the worst wedge shot I’ve hit in a while,” Carter said of his approach shot into the previous hole.

“Had absolutely no idea what to do from there and made a quick six.

“I walked up to the next hole, the par-3 17th and was standing there thinking, Just swing this good here. Let’s just see what we can do.

“Stepped up and hit an 8-iron that I thought was short. I hit it and was like, It’s a bit short. Go, please go. Then I’ve seen it land and thought, This thing is on target.

“Rolled straight up, bang, straight in the hole. Then everyone’s just gone mental. It was absolutely crazy.”

His new Crosstrek courtesy of Subaru Australia is a significant step up from the previous prizes he has won for a hole-in-one.

“Probably a $10 voucher at home. Whatever they give out for the nearest-the-pin,” he said of his previous hole-in-one hauls.

“It’s a huge upgrade.”

Carter’s ace enabled him to shoot 2-under 70 in Saturday’s third round to be in a tie for 10th, 10 shots back of runaway leader Ben Eccles.