Green has hole-outs to remember
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Nathan Green finished last among players who made the cut at the Masters, but he'll leave Augusta National with plenty of memories.
His 6-iron helped him make eagle at the par-5 13th and ace the 16th hole, in the final round.
"It was a big thrill to do it on this big stage," Green said, "and turn (around) a pretty ordinary day."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Another bonus that came with the ace? "It helped me keep it under 80, which was nice," Green said.
He shot 80 in the third round, then was 5 over after five holes Sunday, but made birdie on Nos. 6-8. He three-putted No. 11 for bogey, then made triple-bogey 6 on No. 12 after hitting his tee shot in the water. Green went eagle-par-par-eagle on Nos. 13-16, bogeyed 17 and parred 18 for 75.
Green's ace may not have happened, if not for some keen observation.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Green said he was going to hit 7-iron, then saw playing partner Chad Campbell come up short with that same club. "Chad and I are similar in distance," Green said, "so I just thought, 'Just hit 6 to the middle of the green.' That's kind of all luck."
Instead of the middle of the green, his shot trickled down and into the center of the cup. Augusta National awards a pair of crystal goblets for eagles, and a large crystal bowl for holes-in-one.
The ace at No. 16 may not be the most memorable of his career, though. Crystal is nice, but Green won $500,000 Australian (about $466,000) for making a hole-in-one in the final round at the 2001 Australian Masters.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It's sort of why I'm here," Green said of the prize. "It helped me go over and play Nationwide Tour. I bought my first place with it. That's been probably one of the biggest influences on what allowed me to come and do this. That's probably always going to be a bit more memorable, but still to do it on 16 at Augusta is one to have as well."