Imagining a course with 18 of the most merciless holes in U.S. Open history

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AUGUSTA, Ga. - Matt Wallace won the Par-3 Contest at Augusta National by acing the eighth hole and winning a three-hole playoff with 61-year-old Sandy Lyle. Wallace’s hole-in-one was one of four in Wednesday’s family-friendly event that precedes the Masters, leaving him tied with Lyle at 5-under 22. The playoff rotated between Nos. 8 and 9, with both players making par on the first two holes. That took them back to the eighth, where Wallace nearly made another hole-it-one, plopping his tee shot less than a foot from the cup. Lyle knocked his shot in the water, handing the victory to the 28-year-old Englishman playing in his first Masters. He is the ninth player — and the first since 2013 — to win the Par-3 Contest on his initial try. But also worth noting: No winner of the par-3 has gone on to capture the green jacket. Lyle, the 1988 champion, is playing in his 38th Masters. It was initially thought he had won the par-3 tournament, but officials discovered a scoring error that forced the playoff. In all, there were four aces on the day, including Shane Lowry at No. 2, Mark O’Meara on No. 5 and Devon Bling at No. 7. Wallace’s hole-in-one was the 100th since the contest began in 1960.

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