As Masters week 2021 gets off to a start today in Augusta, we’ve got just three short days until the first round of this year’s tournament.
But as we’re not quite there yet, we’re back with another piece of Masters trivia that will come in handy at your next golf-themed-zoom-pub-quiz.
3 is the highest number of aces scored in a single year at the Masters.
There have been only two triple-ace years (yes, we just made that term up) in Masters history.
There has been much criticism of the narrowing of the course at Augusta in the last 20 years, as it is said to make more inventive shots near impossible. However, both of these triple-ace years were in this century.
In 2004’s final round, Chris DiMarco scored an ace on the 6th followed by Padraig Hamilton and Kirk Triplett who aced the 16th one after another in consecutive groups.
The 16th hole at Augusta has a reputation for being something of an ace-magnet. The vast majority of aces at the Masters have been at hole 16. As of 2021, there have been a total of 30 aces in tournament history, 21 of which were on the 16th hole.
The most recent Masters aces were recorded in 2019 by Bryson deChambeau and Justin Thomas, both on the 16th.
Since 1954, players receive a crystal bowl if ace they score at the Masters that year.
The second and only other year 3 hole-in-ones were recorded is 2016. Shane Lowry, Davis Love III and Louis Oosthuizen all scored an ace on the 16th hole of the final round in that year.
Both triple-ace years, did not unfortunately make a winner out of any of the players involved.
This article is part of our Countdown to The Masters series. Join us every day between now and April 7 for fun facts and interesting stories about golf and The Masters tournament.