The players in this year’s Masters are focused on birdies and even eagles, or at the very least avoiding bogeys. The rest of us are probably wondering what we might score on any given hole at Augusta National, and that brings up a great question: What was the worst single-hole score ever at the Masters?
Turns out, the answer is an unlucky 13. And it’s happened three times.
Tommy Nakajima made a 13 on No. 13
The Japanese golfer was the first to make an official 13 on a single hole at in the Masters, accomplishing the dubious feat in the second round of 1978 on the par-5 13th. He hit his fourth shot into the tributary of Raes Creek short of the green. He tried to play from within the hazard, but he popped the ball straight up and it landed on his foot, leading to a two-stroke penalty. He then tried to hand the club to his caddie but they fumbled the hand-off, and when the club fell into the hazard while his ball was still within its bounds, Nakajima was assessed another two-stroke penalty for grounding a club in a hazard. He then chipped over the green, chipped back and two-putted for 13. Perhaps the craziest part of this 13 is that Nakajima did it without losing a ball.
Tom Weiskopf made a 13 on No. 12
Weiskopf, a frequent Masters contender in the 1970s, chose a 7-iron for his tee shot on the par-3 12thhole in the first round in 1980. The ball landed on the front fringe but spun back into Rae’s Creek. He moved to the drop area 20 yards short of the green to try again, but he sent a sand wedge attempt directly into the water – he later said his drop settled into a thin little hole in damp turf. After another penalty drop, he hit the fringe again with his fifth shot, the ball again spinning back into the water. He sent his seventh shot directly into the water. He then duffed his ninth shot that landed before it even hit the water, then trickled into the creek. After another drop, he finally proved that dry land is not a myth, missing the green to the right but at least on turf. He got down in two from there for the 13. For those counting, that was five balls in the drink.
Sergio Garcia made a 13 on No. 15
The Spaniard – the 2017 Masters champ – made his 13 on the par-5 15th in 2018. Garcia attempted to hit the green with his second shot, but his 6-iron approach didn’t carry far enough onto the green and rolled back into the pond fronting the green. He took a drop 90 yards back in the fairway to give himself a fuller swing for his fourth shot after the penalty, but he spun the wedge shot back into the water. Then he did it again. And again. And again. It added up to five balls in the water, and after finally hitting the green, he made a 10-footer for the 13 to avoid setting a new ...
