“The strange curse of the 12th hole at the Masters in Augusta.”

The mythical 12th hole of Augusta National continues to challenge the legends of golf. Known for its beauty and strategic demands, this par 3 measuring just 155 yards holds an unprecedented curse: no one has managed to make a hole-in-one here since 1988. The last player to achieve this feat was Curtis Strange, who, with a 7-iron, put the ball directly in the hole during the second round of that year’s Masters. But what happened to that ball? Surprisingly, it is not on display at the club, but rather at the bottom of Rae’s Creek. After the historic moment, Strange, unhappy with his overall performance, took the ball out of the hole and threw it into the water, confessing: “To hell with it, I’ve made six holes-in-one and I didn’t keep any of them.”

This decision by Strange gave rise to what is now known as the “Strange curse” of the 12th hole, which has remained intact for 38 years. Since then, no player has managed to replicate the feat, despite numerous attempts and near-miraculous approaches. For example, in 2019, Tiger Woods saw four of his rivals fall into the water, but despite reaching the green, his ball was about 15 meters from the hole. At this year’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur, Spanish player Andrea Revuelta nearly made history, coming within a centimeter of a hole-in-one, while Francesco Molinari, in the same 2019 Masters, placed his ball less than 30 centimeters from the hole. These episodes prove that professionals take aim at the impossible, but the par 3 seems to resist what is deemed impossible.

To understand this anomaly, we consulted Lou Stagner, a golf statistics expert, who revealed that the probability of a PGA Tour professional achieving a hole-in-one from 150 to 160 yards is only 0.053%, or 1 in 1,876 attempts. However, since 1988, there have been 10,738 shots taken at the 12th hole during the Masters, which, statistically, should have resulted in six holes-in-one. The number zero confirms that something strange is happening at Augusta.

It will not, however, be a matter of weather conditions or the greens. Since Strange’s hole-in-one, there have been 23 holes-in-one recorded on other holes of the course, including at least one on each of the other par 3s: the 4th, 6th, and 16th. Interestingly, the 16th hole has seen 19 holes-in-one since 1988, due to its layout that favors approaches across the entire ridge of the green. Therefore, the curse cannot be attributed to Augusta in general, nor to the wind or terrain.

Moreover, the frequency of holes-in-one in professional tournaments is higher than many might think. For example, on the iconic 16th hole of the WM Phoenix Open, there have been 12 holes-in-one since 1988, averaging one every 1,250 attempts. Historically, Augusta’s 12th hole had only two holes-in-one before Strange’s feat: one by William Hyndman in 1959, and another by Claude Harmon in 1947, a year before he won the Green Jacket.

Sixty-seven years have passed, practically the entire life of Bernhard Langer, and the thousands of fans who attend the Masters each year with their folding chairs by the 12th hole have seen only one hole-in-one. This statistic reinforces the idea that the 12th hole is a true fortress for golfers, making its hole-in-one an almost mythical achievement.

But this year, the story may finally change. We firmly believe that the curse will be broken, that we will witness a hole-in-one on this legendary hole at Augusta. Perhaps not on the decisive Sunday, but at any moment, a player will have the courage and precision to make history and free the 12th hole from its strange curse. The Masters is set to witness an unforgettable moment that will be etched forever in the history of golf.

Prepare for the unexpected. This is the year of the hole-in-one on the 12th hole at Augusta!

This article first appeared on Apito Final.