Hoge rules Par 3 Contest highlighted by 5 aces

Golf

AUGUSTA, Georgia — Tom Hoge had one of five holes-in-one made on the day — including two by Ireland’s Seamus Power — en route to winning the Par 3 Contest at Augusta National on Wednesday.

Hoge finished at 6-under 21 on the short, nine-hole layout in the casual, fun-filled event that is one of the most beloved traditions at Augusta National. LIV Golf’s Bubba Watson, who also had an ace on No. 4, finished 1 stroke back in a share of second place.

The 44-year-old Watson on Thursday will make his first Masters start since he joined LIV Golf last July when he and 17 others from the Saudi-backed circuit tee off in the opening round of the year’s first major.

“Keep hitting the ball well,” Watson said when asked about his aspirations for the rest of the week, which has plenty of rain in the forecast. “I was hitting the short irons well on the Par 3 here. Been hitting it good all week. With the weather coming in, nobody knows what’s going to happen.”

The event, where players can use friends and family as caddies, has proven to be a bad luck omen for the main Masters tournament. Since its inception in 1960, no Par 3 Contest winner has won the Masters the same year.

Power finished the Par 3 Contest in style, hitting back-to-back aces on the final two holes of the short course. The five holes-in-one on Wednesday brings the all-time total for the event to 106.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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