AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) 鈥 Shane Lowry became the first player with two career holes-in-one at the Masters on Saturday.
More importantly, his ace at the par-3 sixth put him in contention for his first green jacket.
Playing with Tommy Fleetwood and trying to chase down good buddy Rory McIlroy, Lowry hit a 7-iron from 190 yards and . He reared back and shook his arms in celebration, almost exactly like he did a decade ago, when Lowry aced the par-3 16th during the final round of the Masters.
鈥淵ou don’t ever expect to make a hole-in-one. I just couldn’t believe it,鈥 he said. 鈥淥bviously, you know, you’re out here, and you’re in the hunt at the Masters, and you’re making a hole-in-one 鈥 it’s pretty cool.鈥
Even cooler: Lowry ended up shooting 68, leaving him 9 under for the tournament and .
鈥淲e all know it鈥檚 all about tomorrow. You know what I mean?鈥 asked Lowry, whose only major victory came at the 2019 British Open. 鈥淥bviously it matters, today, but when we get to tomorrow, that鈥檚 when, you know, we鈥檒l see what everyone is made of.鈥
Perhaps more incredible than his second ace in the Masters was the fact that it was Lowry’s second ace in as many events. He had a hole-in-one on the second hole at Memorial Park during the Houston Open, using the same 7-iron he used on Saturday.
As for the Masters, it was the first hole-in-one since Stewart Cink’s on the 16th in 2022. And it was just the seventh ace to happen on the difficult, downhill sixth hole; Corey Conners had the last one during the 2021 tournament.
Anyone who makes a hole-in-one during the Masters is rewarded with a crystal bowl. Now, Lowry’s the first with two of them.
He has a rapidly growing list of aces at some of golf’s iconic venues, too. Along with his two at Augusta National, and his recent one in Houston, the Irishman has aced the 17th at TPC Sawgrass 鈥 the famed island green 鈥 and the seventh at Pebble Beach.
鈥淢aybe I’m just good. I don’t know,鈥 Lowry said, laughing. 鈥淚 don’t know.鈥
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