On the Green

Ian Poulter hit the shot of the tournament so far, a hole-in-one with an 8-iron from 169 yards on No. 16. Aside from putting him ahead of the field at 3-under par (he fell back to 2-undar at 17), it gave him a memory he won't soon forget.

Thousands of spectators always are around No. 16, especially now that Augusta National has cleared the brush and trees from the big hill to the left side. "It's an ubelievable buzz," Poulter said. "It's so much that the hairs on the back of your neck stand up."

Watch this week for the return of the LI Golf Beat column in Newsday, including the ever popular listing of holes-in-one. For the first few weeks, we'll be featuring the aces scored since the column ended last fall.

For instance:
Mary Walsh, Nassau CC, fifth hole. 130 yards, 5-iron
Cliff Burns, Heatherwodd GC, 12th hole, 121 yards, gap wedge
Elaine Ditzel, Spring Lake Golf Club (Sandpiper Course), sixth hole, 88 yards, 6-iron

These and many more coming up.