(Mark Baker / Associated Press)
There were four holes-in-one on the renovated par-three course Wednesday, including back-to-back aces by Ireland’s Seamus Power.
Power holed out on Nos. 8 and 9, delighting the gallery of thousands who had gathered for the annual Par-Three Contest.
During the yearly five-month course closure, Augusta National refashioned five holes on the par-three course, including installing new tee boxes and greens.
Others who had aces Wednesday were defending Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson and Tom Hoge, who wound up winning the lighthearted event, when lots of players have wives, girlfriends or family members as caddies.
Hoge shot a six-under-par 21 on the nine-hole course, with four 3s, four 2s and a hole-in-one. It’s good news/bad news for him: He won, yes, but no one has won the Par-3 Contest and Masters in the same year.
Perhaps the event’s most memorable hole-in-one came in 2018, when six-time Masters champion Jack Nicklaus allowed his grandson, G.T., hit a tee shot on No. 9.
Ace!
The elder Nicklaus would call it the greatest Masters moment of his career.