Justin Thomas made a hole-in-one on the second hole during Wednesday’s Par-3 Contest, but that wasn’t even the best part of his day. The most adorable part is that his daughter invaded the course to play with his club as an ecstatic Thoms cherished the moment.

The Wednesday event before the master's has become more about fun than competition. Players bring their families, kids hit shots with their dads’ clubs, and scores don’t really matter.

Besides cherishing his own success with his daughter, Thomas also interacted with the families and kids of other contestants. Later, he said, "It's hard to honestly remember after the chaos out there with all the kids. It's a special day. It's really fun.”

Thomas wasn’t the only one enjoying time with family. Sergio Garcia’s daughter Azalea, walked with him and even helped make putts. Ben Griffin’s kids also joined in, hitting their own shots. Because of these kids, the course felt more like a playground.

As for the hole-in-one on the second hole, Thomas made it while playing with Max Homa and Jordan Spieth. His shot landed, bounced a few times, and went straight into the hole. He turned around and celebrated by making money signs with both hands.

"I probably enjoyed that shot a lot more than Jordan and Max did," Thomas joked to ESPN's Scott Van Pelt. "Maybe 1,000 times more than they did."

Clearly, some money was on the line. But even that moment got lost in all the fun happening around him.

Justin Thomas Values Wednesday More Than Tournament Prep

The Par-3 Contest started in 1960, with Sam Snead winning the first one. Since then, a strange trend has continued. No winner has ever gone on to win the green jacket in the same week. Players know about this “curse,” but they don’t really care.

For Thomas, Wednesday feels completely different from the main tournament. There’s no pressure and no stress about bad shots. It is just a chance to relax and enjoy time on one of golf’s most famous courses.

"It's probably the least stress, the most relaxed we'll be on a golf course," he explained. "It's nice to be on the grounds of Augusta National and not be stressed about where the ball is going to go."

Wyndham Clark and Keegan Bradley also made hole-in-ones on Wednesday. The celebrations were short because everyone knew the real challenge would begin on Thursday.

Thomas will tee off at 1:32 p.m. ET on Thursday with Sepp Straka and Ben Griffin. He has plenty of time to think about his game before then.

But Wednesday was all about his daughter. She will remember her day at Augusta National long after the hole-in-one is forgotten. And from the smile on Thomas’s face all afternoon, he wouldn’t want it any other way.

Should more golf events follow the Par-3 Contest's family-first approach? Tell us what you think in the comments.

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Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Souvik Roy