Masters holes-in-one: Stewart Cink joins exclusive list of golfers to ace Augusta

Stewart Cink shocked the golf world Friday at the Masters, and he did it with his son by his side.

At the par-3 16th hole of Augusta National, Cink lifted his tee shot up and then watched it bounce three times on the green. As the ball rolled toward the flag, the crowd began to murmur in anticipation. The ball kept rolling until it dropped in the cup. Cink became the 33rd golfer to make a hole-in-one at the Masters.

HE CINKS IT!

Stewart Cink delivers an ACE on No. 16 with his son caddying. pic.twitter.com/EFJFAwVygU

— GOLF on CBS ⛳ (@GOLFonCBS) April 8, 2022

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The shot came on the same day as the birthday of his son, Reagan, who was caddying for him.

“Happy birthday,” Cink told his son, according to The New York Times. “It’s a pretty good present.”

Cink told Times that he tried to push the ball a little farther back from the hole because he knew it would wind up sliding down toward the flag. He said he knew right away that he hit the ball exactly how he wanted.

“Usually a lot of times anyway, you hear it was kind of a mis-hit or whatever,” Cink told the Times. “This was not a mis-hit. This was exactly the way I would have drawn it up. It was like a dream shot.”

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The tournament had otherwise not gone as planned for Cink, who eventually missed the cut after finishing the first two rounds 7 over par.

“I’d throw the hole-in-one ball right in the water if I could make the cut and compete for two more rounds, but I’m missing the cut,” Cink said, according to the Times. “That stings more than the hole-in-one. It doesn’t boost my spirits like missing the cut hurts my spirits. I absolutely loathe not playing here on the weekend, and it hurts.”

Still, it was a moment of history on one of the prestigious golf courses in the world. Whose company does Cink now share? The Sporting News looks back at the history of aces at the Masters.

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Holes-in-one at the Masters

There have been 33 holes-in-ones at the Masters. They have happened most frequently at the par-3 16th, where there have been 23.

Only five amateurs have sunk aces at the Masters: Ross Somerville at the 16th in 1934; Ray Billows at the 16th in 1940; John Dawson at the 16th in 1949; Billy Joe Patton at the sixth in 1954; and William Hyndman at the 12th in 1959.

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Holes-in-one at the Masters used to be fairly uncommon. Between the first tournament in 1934 and 2000, there were only 14 aces. Beginning in 2000, there have been 19 aces. There were multiple holes-in-one in 2004 (three), 2010 (two), 2012 (two), 2016 (three), 2019 (two) and 2021 (two). Before 2000, the only year with multiple holes-in-one was 1954.

In 2021, Tommy Fleetwood sank one on the 16th and Corey Conners aced one on the sixth.

Here’s a look at all the aces at the Masters: