Kick gives Hoffman hole-in-one

UNLV product’s shot avoids bunker for ace

Charley Hoffman has made a holein-one at the Masters.

The UNLV product flirted with the bunker left of the 16th green, only to catch a fortuitous kick that sent the ball right into the hole.

Hoffman shot a final-round 67, which included four birdiesandabogey. He finished tied for 12th place with two others at 6-under par.

It was the third straight year that there’s been at least one ace at the 170-yard hole known as Redbud.

Matt Kuchar had a hole-in-one in 2017, and three players did it in 2016.

Tiger finds swing

Tiger Woods finally found his form at the Masters. It came a few days too late.

Woods closed with a flurry, shooting a 3-under 69 in the final round. He finishing at 1-over 289 for the tournament and tied for 32nd with two others.

He had two birdies, an eagle and a bogey on the back nine. The eagle was his first of the week. His only late blemish was missing a 9-foot par putt at No. 18. Still, he played much more like the four-time Masters champion everyone remembers for the first time all week.

The former world No. 1 is returning to competitive golf after a fourth back surgery. He played the Masters for the first time since 2015.

He returned the last two years for the champions’ dinner, but didn’t get on the course. The hiatus left him feeling nostalgic during his walk to the 18th green.

“This is one of the greatest walks in all of golf,” Woods said afterward. “And I had missed it for the last couple of years. I hadn’t been able to play in it, so now I’m glad I’m competing in this tournament. And to face the challenges out there, I missed it. I really did. I missed playing out here. I missed competing against these guys. Such a great event. Best (event) in all of our sport.”

Woods’ final round might have included his best iron shot of the week. Woods nearly aced the 240yard, par-3 fourth. His tee shot landed a few feet short of the flag, bounced a couple of times and then skirted by the left edge of the hole. He was left with a left-to-rightbreaking 10-footer that he dropped in the left side of the cup.

“My swing is slightly off,” he said. “I was pleased with the way I was able to drive it, but I just could not convert with my irons. I struggled with obviously controlling the shape. Can’t control the shape. Can’t control the distance. And it was one of those weeks in that regard.”

Bogey costs Spieth

Jordan Spieth’s first bogey of the day left him one stroke shy of tying the course record shared by Nick Price and Greg Norman.

Spieth shot an 8-under 64 in the final round and finished at 13 under, two shots behind winner Patrick Reed. Spieth made a bogey on the par-4 18th after hitting a tree branch off the tee and then missing a 10-foot par putt.

Price shot a 9-under 63 in 1986, a mark matched 10 years later by Norman.

Spieth looked like he would join them until his tee shot caught a branch and dropped well short of the fairway.

Still, Spieth became the seventh player in Masters history to shoot a 64 in the final round.

And almost for Casey

Paul Casey bogeyed the last two holes at the Masters to miss out on the course record.

Casey still managed to shoot a 7-under 65, which was the lowest round of the day and his best score ever in a major championship.

Beginning at No. 11, Casey ripped off a streak of four birdies and an eagle over five holes, pushing his score for the day to 9 under. That gave him at a shot at the Augusta National record.