By Ross Kelly

There are millions of casual golfers around the world who dream some day of recording an ace by making a hole-in-one. Meanwhile, there are thousands of professional golfers on this planet who dream one day of stepping onto Augusta National Golf Club and playing at the Masters.

Shane Lowry was able to do both before this year—even recording an ace at the 2016 Masters Tournament. But that wasn’t enough for the Irishman, who made golf history during Round 3 of the 2026 Masters on Saturday. Lowry carded his second hole-in-one at the event, becoming the first person ever to have multiple holes-in-one at the Masters Tournament.

The most recent ace came on the par-3 sixth hole, which measures 180 yards. Lowry used a 7-iron for his tee shot, which landed on the green, bounced a few times, and then rolled into the hole. He was expectedly jubilant, pumping his fist while the patrons at Augusta went wild. Lowry also hugged his playing partner, a fellow European in Tommy Fleetwood.

Lowry was on the fringe, to use a golf analogy, of competing for a green jacket before the ace, as he was at 6-under-par, with tournament leader Rory McIlroy at 12-under-par. After gaining two strokes on one hole and moving to 8-under-par, Lowry immediately shot up the leaderboard and was tied for third place.

The 39-year-old golfer saw his first Masters ace come on par-3 16th hole back a decade ago. That came in the final round on a Sunday, and it enabled Lowry to finish in a tie for 39th in the event at 10-over-par. That was just Lowry’s second Masters appearance, but with an additional 10 years of Augusta experience under his belt, his familiarity certainly helped him notch another ace and to be in contention for his first green jacket.

Saturday’s ace was Lowry’s second hole-in-one in as many events. In his last start at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, he also carded an ace at Memorial Park in the tournament’s final round. Lowry would finish that tournament at 7-under-par and tied for 28th place.

The hole-in-one was the first by any golfer at the 2026 Masters and the first ace since Stewart Cink notched one in 2022. It was also the 35th ace in Masters history, with this year being the 90th edition of the famed major championship.

The 16th hole, at which Lowry had his ace 10 years ago, has seen 24 of the 35 Masters holes-in-one. Hole No. 6 now has seven aces, Hole No. 12 has three aces, and the fourth hole has a lone hole-in-one.

While a hole-in-one is certainly a magical moment, especially at an iconic venue like Augusta National, it’s not quite as rare as a double eagle, also known as an albatross. Just five of those have happened in the 90-year history of the Masters, the last coming by Louis Oosthuizen in 2012.

According to the PGA Tour, this was Lowry’s fifth hole-in-one in his PGA Tour career, which began back in 2009. Apart from his two aces at Augusta and the hole-in-one in his last start at Houston, Lowry has the honor of acing two of the most notable par-3s in all of golf.

At the 2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Lowry needed just one shot on No. 7 at the famed Pebble Beach course. Two years prior at the 2022 Players Championship, Lowry had an ace on No. 17 at TPC Sawgrass, a hole which is nicknamed Island Green, though it’s technically a peninsula.

This is Lowry’s 11th Masters start, with his best finish being a third place in 2022. He has no other top 15s at the major, prior to stepping onto Augusta at the 2026 tournament. However, Lowry can call himself a major champion, and that’s something which surpasses even a pair of holes-in-one at the Masters.

Lowry triumphed at the 2019 Open Championship, with a commanding six-stroke margin of victory over Saturday’s playing partner in Fleetwood. Just like Saturday at the Masters, Lowry also had a memorable third round at the 2019 British Open. He shot an 8-under 63 to break the course record and give him a four-stroke lead entering the final round. His six-stroke victory was the largest at any major since Martin Kaymer won by eight strokes at the 2014 U.S. Open.

With seven career victories as a professional, Lowry has established himself as one of the best European golfers of his era. Six of his seven wins have come on the European Tour, and his last victory of any kind came in April 2024 at the Zurich Classic, in which he won the team event alongside McIlroy.

Lowry entered the 2026 Masters as No. 32 in Official World Golf Ranking. If he can win his first green jacket, or even simply finish near the top of the leaderboard, then he’s set for a big boost up the OWGR.