Par‑3 shockers at Augusta
The Masters’ Par 3 Contest delivered real moments: Aaron Rai won the Par 3 ahead of Jacob Bridgeman and John Keefer, and Justin Thomas aced the 2nd hole — the contest’s 116th hole‑in‑one — even settling a side bet with Jordan Spieth and Max Homa. (The Athletic reported Rai’s win and runners‑up; Skratch Golf documented Thomas’s ace and the side bet.) ( )
Justin Thomas turned Augusta’s warmup into a cash-out line on Wednesday: he jarred a hole-in-one at the 2nd hole in the opening group, then said the shot won him a $1,000 side bet from Jordan Spieth and Max Homa. Skratch Golf reported it as the 116th ace in Par 3 Contest history. (skratch.golf, golfdigest.com) That little Wednesday event is not a practice round in disguise. The Masters Par 3 Contest has been played at Augusta National since 1960, over nine short holes on a separate course, and players often bring wives, children, and friends to caddie. (pgatour.com, golfweek.usatoday.com) The course is tiny by Masters standards but not by golf standards. Sporting News said the 2026 setup stretched across nine holes from 90 to 155 yards around DeSoto Springs Pond and Ike’s Pond, which is why one spinning wedge can become the day’s biggest roar. (sportingnews.com, pgatour.com) Thomas’s ace mattered because it came almost immediately. Yahoo Sports said he birdied the 1st hole and then aced the 2nd, which put him at 3-under through two holes before most of the field had settled in. (sports.yahoo.com, skratch.golf) The winner, though, was Aaron Rai. The Athletic and Golfweek reported that Rai shot 6-under 21 to finish one stroke ahead of Jacob Bridgeman and John Keefer, two Masters first-timers who each posted 5-under 22. (nytimes.com, golfweek.usatoday.com) Rai’s score came with the kind of late push that wins a nine-hole sprint. CBS Sports reported that he birdied his final four holes, which is the Par 3 version of closing a 100-meter race with your fastest steps. (cbssports.com, nytimes.com) There is also a reason players joke about not wanting to win this thing. PGA Tour and Golf Digest both noted the contest’s oldest superstition: no Par 3 Contest winner has ever gone on to win that same week’s Masters Tournament. (pgatour.com, golfdigest.com) So Wednesday at Augusta produced both sides of the event in one afternoon. Rai walked away with the glass trophy, while Thomas walked away with the loudest single shot, the first ace of the day, and a side bet his friends now have to pay. (nytimes.com, skratch.golf, golfchannel.com)
