Aces at No. 18 are sure to be wild at The Greenbrier Classic

text size

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. -- Fans and players alike could walk away a little richer this week thanks to an eye-popping promotion at The Greenbrier Classic.

Any ace at the par-3 18th hole is worth $1 million -- with $250,000 going to the lucky pro and $750,000 to the tournament's charities. But there's more. Every fan sitting in the stands around the unique finishing hole receives $100.

Should there be a second or third ace on the 162-yard par 3 that day, each would result in the same $1 million payout and distribution. But the fans will receive $500 and $1,000, respectively, for the second and third hole-in-one.

The promotion starts over each day so there is a potential maximum payout of $12 million for the actual aces and about half that much for the fans.

"I hope that will generate some real live excitement," said Jim Justice, who owns the Greenbrier. "There will be a lot of cheering going on for the pros and everything, and I hope they make a beaucoup of hole in ones, and I hope we have a lot of fun with it."

Johnson Wagner, who played the Old White Course several times while he was a student at Virginia Tech, has heard about the cash giveaway. He expects to see at least one ace at the 18th this week.

"If you give 156 players of the best world four shots from 160 yards, I think there's a good chance there's gonna be a hole in one," he said.

Wagner played a practice round this week with Brendon de Jonge, who also played for the Hokies. De Jonge lipped out for a hole-in-one at No. 18 and Wagner had to make birdie to halve the hole.

"It's not that difficult," Wagner said. "If the greens were firm, there's such a big hump in the middle, it would be challenging. But as soft as the greens are, I'm hoping for some hole in ones."

Carl Pettersson, who won the RBC Canadian Open on Sunday, arrived at The Greenbrier on Tuesday in time for a practice round. He thinks the par-3 finish is "cool."

"The whole course is a throwback, I think." Pettersson said. "I like the 18th hole being a par 3. It's something different. It's not a long par 3, so hopefully (we'll) see a lot birdies and some hole -in-ones.

"It's got a cool green with big ridge in the middle, and they can put the pins around there. It's gonna yield a lot of birdies and a lot of bogeys with that ridge there.I think it'll be an exciting finishing hole."

Particularly with some extra money at stake.