Tommy Fleetwood carded one of four holes in one in the Masters Par-Three competition but it was his eight-year-old son Frankie’s personal challenge to clear the water at the last which captured patrons’ imagination.
Fleetwood senior, playing with Ryder Cup team-mates Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, aced the fourth, saying afterwards: “I hadn’t hit a green until that hole so I would have been the last to be predicted for a hole in one.”
But everyone was waiting to see whether Fleetwood junior would finally reach the 9th green.
On Tuesday Fleetwood, with Frankie at the back of the room, had spoken about how his son’s personal quest had become something more significant to him.
“I think more than anything the pressure is on me to keep making the Masters until he reaches the green on the ninth,” said the Southport golfer.
It has led to Frankie become something of a local celebrity but when the moment came he could not deliver for his fans, with the best of his two attempts finishing 15 yards short and wet.
It took the focus off McIlroy, who will begin the defence of his title on Thursday, and his daughter Poppy after she holed a monster putt last year which went viral.
While the par three event is a bit of fun, the Northern Irishman offered his thoughts on what warmer whether this week will mean for the tournament proper.
“I think this week is going to be dry, already it’s a little windy, and the course is already firming up,” he said.
“If the conditions continue to be the way they are, double digits under par would be an amazing score.
“It’s not going to be a low-scoring Masters and that’s going to be fun for everyone.”
Justin Thomas started the entertainment with an ace at the second, while defeated Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley became the first player in the history of the competition to have holes-in-one in successive years.
Wyndham Clark was the fourth man to ace, at the seventh, amid the chaos of competition which bore closer resemblance to a kindergarten as players brought their families along for a relaxed afternoon.
Father-of-five Jason Day described it as “a circus” while Clark himself said: “As a man with no kids I’ll say it’s great birth control but it’s a lot of fun.”
Comedian Kevin Hart, relatively new to the sport, caddied for Bryson DeChambeau but got his chance on the ninth – only to top his tee shot straight into the pond – prompting DeChambeau to embrace him with a bear hug before lifting him into the air.
Aaron Rai won the event with a six-under score but that comes with a caveat as, since the contest started in 1960, no player has ever become par-three and Masters champion in the same week.
