By Frank Pingue
AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) – LIV Golf narrowly missed out on its first win of Masters week as Bubba Watson finished one shot behind Tom Hoge in the Par-3 Contest on Wednesday at Augusta National and in a share of second place.
Twice Masters champion Watson, buoyed by a one-hop ace at the fourth hole, finished at five-under-par 22 on the short, nine-hole layout that is the site of one of the most beloved traditions at Augusta National.
The 44-year-old Watson will make his first Masters start since he joined LIV Golf last July when he and 17 others from the Saudi-backed circuit tee off in Thursday’s opening round of the year’s first major.
“Keep hitting the ball well,” Watson said on Wednesday after the Par-3 Contest when asked about his aspirations for the rest of the week, which has plenty of rain in the forecast.
“I was hitting the short irons well on the Par-3 here. Been hitting it good all week. With the weather coming in, nobody knows what’s going to happen.”
Perhaps Watson can take comfort in falling short of the Par-3 title given that winning the fun-filled event, where players can use friends and family as caddies, has proven to be a bad luck omen for the main Masters tournament.
Since its inception in 1960, no Par-3 Contest winner has won the Masters the same year.
Ireland’s Seamus Power finished the Par-3 Contest in style as he hit back-to-back aces on the final two holes of the short course. There were five holes-in-one on Wednesday, bringing the all-time total to 106.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue, editing by Ed Osmond)
