Photo by Benny Hassum on Unsplash The PGA Championship is the second major of the calendar year, typically played in May. Organized by the PGA of America (distinct from the PGA Tour), it carries full major championship weight and a rich history that includes some of the sport's most dramatic finishes. Here's a complete guide to what the PGA Championship rewards, who historically performs best, and what to expect in upcoming editions. The PGA Championship's Unique Identity Among the four major championships, the PGA Championship is sometimes unfairly dismissed as the "fourth" major — the one that follows the Masters, US Open, and Open Championship in prestige. This is an undeserved reputation. The PGA Championship has produced some of the sport's greatest moments and is played at world-class venues on a rotating basis. What makes it distinct is its field composition: unlike the other majors, the PGA Championship traditionally includes the top 20 players from t...
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Against the Odds: The 34 Hole-in-Ones of Augusta National
In the entire history of The Masters Tournament, only 34 holes-in-one have ever been recorded at Augusta National Golf Club. With four par 3s on the course — holes 4, 6, 12, and 16 — holes-in-one are extraordinarily rare. Here is the complete verified list of every hole-in-one in Masters history, hole by hole.
Hole 4 — Flowering Crabapple (240 yards)
The longest par 3 on the course has seen just one hole-in-one in Masters history — making it the hardest hole to hole-in-one at Augusta National. No player has done it since 1992.
Player
Year
Club
Distance
Jeff Sluman
1992
4-iron
213 yards
Hole 6 — Juniper (180 yards)
The downhill par 3 sixth has seen six holes-in-one. The most famous came in 1954 when amateur Billy Joe Patton holed one during a remarkable run that nearly won him the entire tournament.
Player
Year
Club
Distance
Leland Gibson
1954
4-iron
190 yards
Billy Joe Patton (a)
1954
5-iron
190 yards
Charles Coody
1972
5-iron
190 yards
Chris DiMarco
2004
5-iron
198 yards
Jamie Donaldson
2013
7-iron
177 yards
Corey Conners
2021
9-iron
182 yards
Hole 12 — Golden Bell (155 yards)
The most famous par 3 in golf has produced just three holes-in-one in Masters history. The swirling winds at the 12th tee and the shallow green make this one of the most demanding tee shots in golf — and one of the least likely to produce a hole-in-one despite being the shortest par 3 on the course.
Player
Year
Club
Distance
Claude Harmon
1947
7-iron
155 yards
William Hyndman (a)
1959
6-iron
155 yards
Curtis Strange
1988
7-iron
155 yards
Hole 16 — Redbud (170 yards)
The 16th is Augusta's hole-in-one hole — 24 of the 34 in Masters history have happened here. The green slopes dramatically from right to left, and when the Sunday pin is placed at the bottom of the slope, balls aimed at the right portion of the green funnel naturally toward the hole. That architecture makes the 16th uniquely positioned to produce holes-in-one. In 2016, three players holed their tee shots on hole 16 in the same tournament — a Masters record that still stands.
Player
Year
Club
Distance
Ross Somerville (a)
1934
Mashie niblick
145 yards
Willie Goggin
1935
Spade mashie
145 yards
Ray Billows (a)
1940
8-iron
145 yards
John Dawson (a)
1949
4-iron
190 yards
Clive Clark
1968
2-iron
190 yards
Corey Pavin
1992
8-iron
140 yards
Raymond Floyd
1996
5-iron
182 yards
Padraig Harrington
2004
6-iron
177 yards
Kirk Triplett
2004
6-iron
177 yards
Trevor Immelman
2005
7-iron
177 yards
Ian Poulter
2008
8-iron
169 yards
Nathan Green
2010
6-iron
176 yards
Ryan Moore
2010
7-iron
176 yards
Bo Van Pelt
2012
6-iron
202 yards
Adam Scott
2012
7-iron
202 yards
Shane Lowry
2016
8-iron
181 yards
Davis Love III
2016
7-iron
181 yards
Louis Oosthuizen
2016
7-iron
181 yards
Matt Kuchar
2017
7-iron
170 yards
Charley Hoffman
2018
6-iron
178 yards
Bryson DeChambeau
2019
7-iron
179 yards
Justin Thomas
2019
8-iron
179 yards
Tommy Fleetwood
2021
9-iron
170 yards
Stewart Cink
2022
8-iron
166 yards
Masters Hole-in-One Records and Stats
Total holes-in-one in Masters history: 34
Most holes-in-one by hole: No. 16 with 24
Fewest holes-in-one by hole: No. 4 with just 1
Most holes-in-one in a single year: 3 in 2016 (all on hole 16 — Lowry, Love III, Oosthuizen)
Last hole-in-one recorded: Stewart Cink, hole 16, 2022 — with his son Reagan on the bag, on Reagan's birthday
First hole-in-one on record: Ross Somerville, hole 16, 1934 — the inaugural Masters Tournament
Years without a hole-in-one: Most years — holes-in-one at Augusta are genuinely rare events
Only player with two Masters holes-in-one on hole 16: Stewart Cink
Why are holes-in-one so rare at Augusta?
Despite having four par 3s, Augusta National is not a course that gives up holes-in-one easily. The 12th hole — despite measuring just 155 yards — has seen only three in the tournament's history because the shallow green and unpredictable winds make even landing on the putting surface a challenge, let alone finding the hole. The 4th hole at 240 yards is simply too long and too demanding for the ball to find the cup with any regularity. Even the 16th, which accounts for most of the holes-in-one on the course, goes multiple years between them. There have been 34 in total across 90+ years of Masters history — fewer than one every three years on average.
What do players receive for a hole-in-one at The Masters?
Augusta National awards a large crystal bowl to any player who makes a hole-in-one during the tournament. It's one of several special awards presented during Masters week — eagles earn a pair of crystal goblets, and the daily low scorer receives a crystal vase. The crystal bowl for a hole-in-one is among the most distinctive awards in professional golf, a typically understated but genuinely beautiful piece of Augusta National's tradition of rewarding exceptional performance.
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