Aaron Rai claims victory, while Frankie Fleetwood stands out at the Par-3 Contest.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Eight-year-old Frankie Fleetwood captured the spotlight at Augusta National, overshadowing his father, Tommy Fleetwood, who recorded one of the numerous holes-in-one during the family-oriented Par 3 Contest held on the eve of the Masters.

Last year, young Fleetwood gained attention when he expressed disappointment in a post-round interview about not being able to clear Ike’s Pond, located in front of the ninth green on the par-3 course. Consequently, all eyes were on him this year, even after Tommy had achieved an ace on the fourth hole an hour prior.

“I’m not feeling overly confident,” Frankie confessed, “but to be honest, I felt good on the range this afternoon, so I believe I have a chance.”

Frankie made good contact with his tee shot on the 120-yard hole, but it veered off course, landing in the water to the right of the green. As he showed signs of disappointment, the crowd gathered tightly around the eighth and ninth holes encouraged him to take a mulligan, prompting Frankie to retee and take another swing. This time, the ball came just a couple of feet short of the green.

“I was so close. Just a few inches, maybe,” Frankie remarked.

Tommy added: “He was pleased with his shots, and he was very close as well. There’s always next year, right, Frank?”

Regarding the competition itself, Aaron Rai finished strong with birdies on the last four holes, ending at 6 under to win the contest, although this may not bode well for him. Historically, no winner of this event has gone on to win the Masters in the same year.

Justin Thomas recorded an ace on the second hole, Wyndham Clark achieved a hole-in-one on the seventh, and Keegan Bradley, his playing partner, aced the eighth hole, making history as the first player to score a hole-in-one in consecutive years in the Par 3 Contest.

Former NFL lineman and current ESPN analyst Jason Kelce (Akshay Bhatia) and comedian Kevin Hart (Bryson DeChambeau) served as celebrity caddies.

“It’s a special day,” Thomas stated. “It’s a lot of fun. Clearly, it’s a beautiful day. And hopefully, this marks a great start to an excellent week.”

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.