The Second Nine at Augusta: Hole-by-Hole Data From the Last 25 Years
Hello, friends. It's Masters week which means it's time to pull an absurd amount of data and see what kinds of crazy and interesting stuff we can find. This is the third article in our Masters series, the first goes into some of the wildest scorecards we found in 25 years of data, and the second details the first nine statistics. After a great response from Reddit, a website I have never said anything bad about, I decided to look into the back – er, second nine.
Mike Barton
Mike Barton
For this series of articles, we have pulled data from 2001 through 2025, so totals/averages reflect those years. Note that 2020 is not included in this dataset. Generally, when I say "in history" or something along those lines, I'm referring to this dataset unless I note otherwise. When determining the worst players by scoring average at each hole, I generally excluded the old past champions. Otherwise, Sandy Lyle was going to clean up.
Today, we'll be focusing on each hole on the second nine at Augusta National – difficulty, how scoring has trended over time, any interesting player-level stats for a given hole, and of course...any memorable blow-ups.
Hole 10, Camellia, Par 4, 495 yards
Scoring average: +0.23
Difficulty: 6/18
Under-par rate: 9.1% | Over-par rate: 28.3%
Hardest year: 2007 (+0.38)
Easiest year: 2018 (+0.08)
There have been five eagles at the 10th, most recently Charl Schwartzel and Gary Woodland in 2022. The biggest blow up belongs to Danny Lee in 2009 who made a nine. I found one random Reddit post that says he six-putted the 10th hole but unfortunately, I can't confirm because Googling "Danny Lee six putt" brings up a different Danny Lee six putt from the US Open.
Chris Kirk leads the 10th with a 3.8 scoring average, despite bogeying twice in 2016. Kirk also led the 7th hole in scoring!
Craig Stadler has been on hell in this hole. No birdies, a couple doubles, and two snowmen.
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Hole 11 - White Dogwood, Par 4, 520 yards
Scoring average: +0.35
Difficulty: 1/18
Under-par rate: 5.7% | Over-par rate: 34.6%
Hardest year: 2016 (+0.52)
Easiest year: 2001 (+0.16)
The start of Amen corner. The announcer on my Xbox game said that Amen Corner does not start on the tee box of 11, but officially begins on your approach into the green. I have no idea if that's accurate but it's pedantic and tedious enough that I repeat it every chance I get just to frustrate people.
The most difficult scoring hole on the course and for my money, one of the coolest approach shots in golf. A sucker's pin placement tucked in behind the water can taunt players into hitting overly aggressive shots. Scottie explains his strategy on this hole by saying that if you ever see his ball going at the pin on 11, it's probably by accident.
Five eagles at 11 including this one from K.J. Choi in 2004.
Charles Howell III is our blow-up winner with a 9 in 2006.
Jon Rahm is the scoring leader here after a ridiculously strong start in 2017-2019.
Ben Curtis is having a rough go of it here. Keep your head up, Ben...this hole is tough!
Hole 12 - Golden Bell, Par 3, 155 yards
Scoring average: +0.17
Difficulty: 9/18
Under-par rate: 13.6% | Over-par rate: 23.5%
Hardest year: 2007 (+0.40)
Easiest year: 2002 (+0.03)
No holes-in-one here since Curtis Strange in 1988. We are DUE this week.
Bubba Watson and Kevin Na both made a 10 here on Sunday in 2013 on a cold and rainy day. Rocco Mediate joins them with his Sunday 10 from 2006. Three 10s, all three on Sunday.
Chris Kirk leads the field again! A nerd might say he appears on these best/worst lists frequently because he is exactly on my cutoff of 20 rounds and thus, has a smaller sample size than everyone else. Regardless, making three birdies on this hole in a single tournament is nuts.
Hilarious to think about Stuart Appleby (3.47 avg) rolling up to this sight and just getting pissed off.
Hole 13 - Azalea, Par 5, 545 yards
Scoring average: -0.27
Difficulty: 17/18
Under-par rate: 41.6% | Over-par rate: 13.8%
Hardest year: 2003 (-0.08)
Easiest year: 2019 (-0.53)
The 13th scores as the second easiest hole on the course but there's still plenty of intrigue to go around. Rory McIlroy nearly collapsed here after trying to play conservative and dunking his third shot into Rae's creek anyways.
No albatrosses here (kind of pathetic, really...) so the best score is an eagle.
Matt Kuchar leads all golfers with a 4.3 scoring average. He delivered a masterpiece in 2015 at -6 fort the tournament. Just one bogey in 44 attempts here. (Insert joke about him being stingier with his shots on the 13th than he is with his prize money)
Everyone's favorite mid-2000s golfer, Rory Sabbatini, struggled mightily with this hole including a stretch of +5 in two holes and +5 in three holes. He did finish his Masters career strong with three birdies in a row. If you only look at his last three holes and Kuchar's last three holes, Rory's beating Matt like he stole something.
Hole 14 - Chinese Fir, Par 4, 440 yards
Scoring average: +0.12
Difficulty: 11/18
Under-par rate: 14.2% | Over-par rate: 23.9%
Hardest year: 2007 (+0.32)
Easiest year: 2011 (-0.06)
Love to see a hole that has oscillated between under-par and over-par. 14 has dipped into under-par status three times: 2009, 2011, and 2025.
There's no water or sand on the 14th, so the blow-ups tend to be limited here. A handful of players have made triple here, most recently Kevin Na in 2016.
The coolest eagle came last year when 65-year old Freddie Couples holed out from 191 yards on his way to shooting -1 on Thursday. My Dad's long-held take that "Freddie is cooler than Tiger" is aging like fine wine.
Viktor Hovland owns the 14th hole after a spectacular four-birdie tournament last year. Even more impressive because be bogeyed Thursday and Friday the year prior.
I can't imagine it's ever a good feeling knowing that you've played your last Masters but for his sake, I hope Justin Leonard (4.47 avg) had a nice moment walking off the 14th hole realizing he would never have to play it again.
Hole 15 - Firethorn, Par 5, 550 yards
Scoring average: -0.26
Difficulty: 16/18
Under-par rate: 39.6% | Over-par rate: 12.6%
Hardest year: 2024 (-0.00)
Easiest year: 2019 (-0.46)
I adore this hole. It has it all – gorgeous scenery, classic moments in golf history, and most importantly – the potential for massive blow-ups due to a treacherous approach into the green where you have to fly over a pond.
There has been just one albatross at the 15th ever – Gene Sarazen in 1935 on his way to a win via playoff.
If you'll indulge me, I'd like to recap Rory McIlory's experience on 15 at Augusta last year. Not on Sunday, which...yes, is one of my favorite golf shots ever. But his entire journey through the tournament on the 15th was amazing, and not just because I saw it happen.
On Thursday, my brother and I sat there and watched Rory's ball slowly trickle into the water on his way to a double bogey. After he proceeded to double bogey the 17th to finish at even par, I declared "Well, that was fun while it lasted but he's finished unfortunately. I saw it in his body language."
Rory McIlroy Chips in to water on 15 ⛳️ - The Masters 2025
by u/Stifflasagna03 in golf
Fast forward to Saturday (I didn't see his Friday shot, so honestly who even cares what happened). My Dad and I lined up along the right fairway, just shy of the pond and watched Rory stick a 6-iron to about six feet. As he walked up to his ball, my Dad leans over to me: "I've been going to live sporting events for over 60 years but if he makes this putt, it will be the coolest thing I've ever seen in person". He drains the putt. It was the coolest thing I've ever seen, too.
I left Sunday morning so again...who really cares what happened. But hell, while we're here we might as well take another look at this thing of beauty.
But all those great shots didn't earn him the scoring title for 15. That belongs to Nick Watney (4.21 avg) who absolutely tore this hole up.
Shane Lowry (5.17 avg) is the high scorer on 15.
We need to talk about Sergio.
Sergio is well under par at the 15th with an average of 4.66. This collection of holes is incredible. He starts with bogey, double, and then turns on the absolute GAS for 16 years. He goes -9 in seven holes from 2003-2005. In 2008, he catches fire again that lasts until 2010 with 8 birdies in a row! 2012 – he gets hot AGAIN! Five birdies in a row. Another four-birdie stretch from 2015-2016 and then a -4 through three in 2017. Man, if you throw out those two holes in 2001, there may not be any player that is better at a single hole than Sergio at the 15th at Augusta.
But folks...
Along comes 2018. It's difficult for me to even describe how completely the wheels come off for the defending champion here at the 15th.
A 13. Five balls into the water. A total ungluing, the worst score at this hole ever. And the second highest at any hole in our dataset. He goes even par from here on out at the 15th. This broke him.
Hole 16 - Redbud, Par 3, 170 yards
Scoring average: +0.08
Difficulty: 13/18
Under-par rate: 16.6% | Over-par rate: 21.3%
Hardest year: 2007 (+0.30)
Easiest year: 2019 (-0.09)
Oh cool, another hole that has lived on either side of the under-par/over-par divide. Another one of my favorites. The traditional Sunday pin placement allows a legitimate chance for a hole-in-one. Most of the shots in the "Every Televised Hole-In-One" video come here at the 16th. My personal favorite is the first guy in the video, Clive Clark, who rips a 2-iron from 190 yards into the hole without the toilet-bowl pin.
I'd like you to take a quick guess at what you think the biggest number recorded here at the 16th is.
The answer is 14.
Billy Casper, 1970 Masters champion, played in the 2005 tournament at the age of 73. He carded a 14 at the 16th and tragically, I can't find video footage of it anywhere. Billy shot 106 this day and in one of the lamest moves in Masters history, decides not to turn in his card. By doing this, he technically avoids shooting the worst round in Masters history. But we know, Billy... I will always recognize 106 as the true worst score recorded. Justice for Charles Kunkle Jr (95, 1956).
Collin Morikawa (2.65 avg) is the scoring leader here with 8 birdies in 20 attempts.
Speedster Brian Harman (3.35 avg) plays this hole worse than anyone, including two triples in the last two years.
Hole 17 - Nandina, Par 4, 450 yards
Scoring average: +0.19
Difficulty: 7/18
Under-par rate: 9.7% | Over-par rate: 26.1%
Hardest year: 2006 (+0.28)
Easiest year: 2019 (+0.05)
I take no pleasure in reporting that the two best scores here were made by the two worst Patricks – Reed and Cantlay. Reed eagled last year and Cantlay eagled in 2024. Nothing worse than a triple bogey here.
Rickie Fowler (3.87 avg) is the king here thanks largely to a -3 performance in 2018.
Billy Horschel (4.43 avg) has an...oddly pleasing set of bad holes here. 17 pars and 13 bogeys. Billy didn't make the field this year but we need him back in 2027 to make four bogeys to earn a perfect split of pars and bogeys.
Hole 18 - Holly, Par 4, 465 yards
Scoring average: +0.24
Difficulty: 4/18
Under-par rate: 11.8% | Over-par rate: 31.6%
Hardest year: 2007 (+0.42)
Easiest year: 2001 (+0.01)
In 2018, Low Amateur Doug Ghim holed out on the 18th, joining Chris DiMarco in 2006 as the only players in our dataset to have done it.
Four snowmen here, most recently Brooks Koepka in last year's Friday round which cost himself the weekend.
Redemption for Shane Lowry (3.97 avg)! He is the only qualified player to have an under-par average here at the 18th.
Justin Leonard (4.53 avg) should have quit while he was ahead (after his Thursday round in 2001).
Once again, if you have gotten to this point in the article, you should seek help. But I sincerely appreciate it! We're just getting off the ground here at GTS so if you liked this, please share it around...that'd be a huge help. Thanks again!
-Mike
If you'd like to play around in the same dataset that helped me write this article, you can do so over at Genius Pools. Fair warning that I designed this specifically for desktop, so that's where I'd recommend viewing.
