Tom Hoge of the United States poses with the Par 3 contest trophy after profitable previous to the 2023 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 05, 2023 in Augusta, Georgia.
| Photo Credit: AFP
Tom Hoge will play the Masters this week making an attempt to interrupt a 60-plus-year curse.
Hoge received the pre-tournament Par 3 Contest on Wednesday, and no winner has ever gone on to say the inexperienced jacket that week at Augusta National Golf Club.
“Just go out and try and play well,” mentioned Hoge, who tied for thirty ninth in his first Masters in 2022. “We have some crazy weather here forecast, so not really sure what to expect in that regard, but I guess good start here to the week today, so try to keep that going.”
Hoge, 33, captured the nine-hole contest with a 6-under-par 21, the bottom rating since Tom Watson received with a 21 in 2018. The occasion was final performed to completion in 2019, because the COVID-19 pandemic and inclement climate triggered cancellations the previous three years.
Hoge aced the eighth gap and made birdie on No. 9 to win by one stroke over two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson and Kurt Kitayama.
“I made a few birdies early and then the hole-in-one on eight was cool to see go in,” Hoge mentioned. “Just a fun day out here this afternoon with my wife caddying for me.”
There have been 5 aces on Wednesday, for a complete of 106 complete for the reason that occasion began in 1960.
Watson made a hole-in-one on No. 4, defending Masters champion Scottie Scheffler holed out on No. 9 and Seamus Power made two, on Nos. 8 and 9.
Power of Ireland grew to become the third participant to ace back-to-back holes within the occasion’s historical past, becoming a member of Claude Harmon (1968) and Toshi Izawa (2002).
“That’s a dream come true,” Power mentioned. “Honestly, to get one is special, but to get the second one was a bit surreal. But it was an absolute blast out there.”
Scheffler truly hit his tee shot at No. 9 earlier than Power, within the group ahead of him, retrieved his ball, so each balls ended up collectively within the cup.
“That was pretty fun,” Scheffler mentioned. “We were trying to make one all day. That was just, I guess, the slam dunk at the end was definitely very fun. The guys were pretty focused watching their shots, and they didn’t quite see it go in. They just heard the noise, and I was like, yeah, that went in. That was mine.”
