The $1 million prize up for grabs on the Dabble Party Hole never went off but didn’t the golfers and fans have fun urging a Saturday ace on the short 17th hole.

So much so, that the partner has agreed to do it all again on Sunday.

In a just a few years, the party hole has become synonymous with Royal Queensland and the staging of the BMW Australian PGA Championship.

The stands are bigger, the noise from the elevated decks surrounding the green is louder, the DJ keeps the music pumping and golfers are more prepared for this unique diversion from the regular rhythm of the round.

You had golfers like Daniel Gale urging more noise from the fans even before he teed off. He promptly plonked his tee shot two metres from the pin and grinned broadly. He should have taken a bow.

Aussie Cam Davis hit a near-perfect 52-degree gap wedge to just 15 centimetres when he reached the hole at 8am in just the second group of the day to play the hole.

There was generous applause from the few early risers in the stands. It was nothing like the throng of party-lovers, Hawaiian shirt aficionados, Scottish cooks in chef hats and so many others roaring by early afternoon in the sun.

The Davis shot stood the test as the best shot on 17 for the day, although England’s Marco Penge bounced one by the flag to near point-blank putting range.

How do we describe the party hole? It’s like a separate event within the broader tournament.

It’s like a Powerplay on steroids in a T20 cricket match when the action heightens, a golden point finale in the NRL or a penalty shootout in football.

As Marc Leishman said after his own birdie there: “I enjoy it. It’s just good that people who might not otherwise go to the golf find it a really cool experience.

“I love that it’s a short par 3, too. And it was a makeable pin placement where guys were definitely scaring the hole (with their shots).”

That is the beauty of the 17th at RQ. It’s the shortest hole on the course at 125m and was playing at just 115m at the front of the green on Saturday.

You expect most hole-in-one promotions with a big prize to have the hole cut in a tough spot as if behind a bank vault door to protect it. Not so at RQ. It was gettable.

It had protection with a hump just on the green that twisted balls left – as it did the tee shot of American Harry Higgs – who was close to hitting a pearler.

Higgs still finished the hole with a smile. One fan with a can shouted: “Great to have you in Australia, brother.”

It was a far tougher par 3 over water, with a big bucks hole-in-prize prize, that was first introduced to the Australian PGA at Royal Pines nearly a decade ago.

That played to 176m on the back tier with all sorts of undulations protecting it.

When Mat Goggin got within a metre of a windfall with his 7-iron in 2015, one wit shouted: “Matty, you could nearly have bought Tasmania.”

That’s the party hole. It brings out the fun of sport. The players are happy to buy in, too.

Cam Smith fed his wedge down off the higher ridge on the green to inside six feet. He sunk the putt for birdie and got his arms moving to urge more from the crowd.

They happily obliged. He feigned throwing his ball to the crowd, as is tradition, and walked off with it instead.

Playing partner Jason Day gave the hole a positive comparison to the boisterous par 3 party hole at TPC Scottsdale, where the Phoenix Open is played annually.

“I think the music is great, kind of drowns out the crowd, and I think Scottsdale just doesn’t do it enough,” Day said.

“That was actually really fun. I think the crowd were very respectful and you could tell they were all having a good time. Hats off to the PGA for making a party hole.”

It’s also a hole to celebrate golfers. Australian golf stalwarts Rod Pampling and John Senden are both 50-plus and play on the Champions Tour these days.

Both gave fans lovely birdies on the 17th and the crowd responded generously.

The fans had the fill… 35 birdies in all on Saturday.

Davis ruled on the day. The music piped through the speakers at 8am was perfect with, “Let The Sunshine In.”

It did, finally, and the crowd on the 17th loved it.

There will be a full house back for more on Sunday.