The four things you might have missed Monday from Augusta National and the Masters
There have only been 34 holes-in-one made during the Masters Tournament.
There have only ever been three on the famed 12th hole – dubbed Golden Bell – during the tournament.
That makes what Sepp Straka did even more impressive Monday during a practice around ahead of the 2023 Masters.
Straka, playing alongside fellow Georgia Bulldog Chris Kirk as well as Abraham Ancer and JT Poston, played his shot beautifully over Rae’s Creek and landed it just on the green. It bounced three times and then gently rolled in the cup.
SIGN HERE, PLEASE: Here's the unwritten rule on how Masters players sign autographs on Augusta National flags
LUCKY 13TH? Why changes to No. 13 at Augusta National should create pivotal decisions at 2023 Masters
And then, let the celebration begin, as Straka and everyone else on the tee box loved it.
Here’s the complete list of aces on the 12th in competition:
Claude Harmon, 1947 (7-iron, 155 yards)
William Hyndman, 1959 (6-iron, 155 yards)
Curtis Strange, 1988 (7-iron, 155 yards)
That’s it. That’s the list.
Rose, Tiger. Tiger, Rose.
As the Augusta National Women’s Amateur replayed on Golf Channel Monday morning, champion Rose Zhang was out on the back nine tracking Tiger Woods. Zhang got a prime seat at the back of the 12th tee alongside good friend and fellow NCAA champion Rachel Heck and waited for Woods, who was playing alongside Rory McIlroy and Fred Couples.
A member of Zhang’s team first got the attention of McIlroy, who nudged Woods to let him know that a fellow Cardinal was in the gallery.
“I got to shake hands with Rory and Tiger,” said Zhang with a wide smile. “And then Fred Couples came up and had me stand up. I was like, ‘Wow, I was really being put on the spot.’ ”
Zhang, 19, certainly deserved an ovation after clinching the ANWA in dramatic fashion on Saturday to add to one of the greatest amateur resumes the game has seen. Zhang joins Woods and Pat Hurst as one of three players to win the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Junior and NCAA Championship. She won the ANWA in her fourth attempt.
There’s a chance that Zhang could top Woods’ Stanford record in the coming weeks. The sophomore has won nine of 16 career starts for the Cardinal, including five of six this year. Woods holds the record for most wins at Stanford at 11, along with Maverick McNealy and Patrick Rodgers. Woods made 26 career starts in two years at Stanford.
Zhang, who first met Woods at the 2018 Junior Ryder Cup, has four events left on her spring schedule.
After meeting with the press on Saturday, Zhang headed back over to Amen Corner to take sunset pictures with her team.
“It was perfect,” said Zhang. “Kind of the calm after the storm environment.”
From YouTube to the Masters
Harrison Crowe might be best known for hitting a shot off the concrete sidewalk near the famous Dunvegan pub onto the 18th green at the Old Course. Harrison likely won’t be hitting any trick shots onto Augusta National property from the Waffle House this week, but the 21-year-old amateur would like to get another crack at skipping the ball on the par-3 16thafter plopping one in the middle of the pond.
When filmmaker Erik Anders Lang went into the Dunvegan in search of someone who could recreate the shot he’d heard Ernie Els once hit in the wee hours of the morning, Crowe answered the call.
After his first shot off a tee went long, Crowe opted to hit another bright red ball directly off the paving stone, aiming over a chimney at the end of the block. His second shot found the green, and Crowe’s St. Andrews stunt now has nearly 300,000 views on YouTube.
The reaction since then, he said, has been mostly positive.
“A lot of people have really come to me, especially when I played the Australian Open at the end of last year,” he said. “I couldn’t believe the crowd support I had amongst playing with Cameron Davis and Adam Scott.”
Crowe, one of seven amateurs in the field at the 87th Masters, played his way into the field by winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship last fall. The victory also gave Crowe a start in the 151st British Open at Royal Liverpool.
Crowe spent Monday playing alongside fellow Aussies Jason Day and Min Woo Lee and was grateful for the advice. On Tuesday, he’ll tee it up with Adam Scott, Cameron Smith and Lee. It’s been 10 years since Scott became the first Aussie to win the Masters.
Shark hopes to bite back at Augusta
Greg Norman is hoping for revenge for being snubbed by the Masters.
And that would mean one of the 18 LIV golfers competing at Augusta National this week winning the event.
Norman, LIV Golf’s CEO, told The Daily Telegraph that if one of his golfers captures the Green Jacket, the other 17 will be ready to storm the 18th green.
“They’ve said that if one of them wins then the other 17 will hang around and be there to congratulate him around the 18th green,” Norman told the British newspaper. “Could you imagine what a scene that would be, all these players hugging the winner. You only see things like that in the Ryder Cup, although it’s happening in our events more and more.”
Norman, though, will not be there to soak it in, telling The Telegraph he was not invited.
“Funnily enough, I haven’t been invited,” said Norman, who lives in Palm Beach Gardens. “As a major winner I always was before, but they only sent me a grounds pass last year and nothing, zilch, this time around. I’m disappointed because it’s so petty but, of course, I’ll still be watching.”
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Masters 2023 Monday: What you might have missed at Augusta National
