Masters Tournament Par 3 Contest
The Masters Tournament Par-3 contest is a golf competition that precedes the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. The first Par-3 contest was held before the 1960 tournament, and was won by three-time Masters champion Sam Snead.[2] The contest takes place in a single round on a nine-hole, par-27 course in the northeast corner of the club's grounds, designed in 1958 by George Cobb and club founder Clifford Roberts.[1][3][4]
Tournament information | |
---|---|
Location | Augusta, Georgia, U.S. |
Established | 1960 |
Course(s) | Augusta National Golf Club |
Par | 27 |
Length | 1,060 yards (970 m)[1] |
Organized by | Augusta National Golf Club |
Format | Stroke play |
Month played | April |
Tournament record score | |
To par | −8 Jimmy Walker (2016) |
Current champion | |
Tom Hoge |
Traditionally, the contest participants have invited family members to caddie for them, sometimes allowing them to play shots on their behalf. Through the 2019 contest, ninety-four holes in one have been recorded, including nine in the 2016 event.[4][5]
Snead became the contest's first multiple winner in 1974, fourteen years after his first. The most recent is Tom Watson, who won his second Par-3 contest in 2018, 36 years after his first in 1982. Pádraig Harrington is the only one with three wins; he won his first pair in consecutive years (2003, 2004), as did Sandy Lyle (1997, 1998). Seven players have multiple wins; the other three are Isao Aoki, Jay Haas, and David Toms.
Jimmy Walker holds the course record of 19 (–8), set in 2016, which included an ace. The contest has been decided by a playoff on 21 occasions, and concluded with a tie twice. Just 14 of the 59 winners (including ties) are non-American. No winner of the Par-3 contest has gone on to win the Masters in the same year.[4]
Winners
Masters champions who also won a Par-3 contest
Champions | Par-3 wins | Masters wins[38] |
---|---|---|
Sam Snead | 1960, 1974 | 1949, 1952, 1954 |
Art Wall Jr. | 1965 | 1959 |
Arnold Palmer | 1967 | 1958, 1960, 1962, 1964 |
Gay Brewer | 1973 | 1967 |
Tom Watson | 1982, 2018 | 1977, 1981 |
Tommy Aaron | 1984 | 1973 |
Ben Crenshaw | 1987 | 1984, 1995 |
Raymond Floyd | 1990 | 1976 |
Vijay Singh | 1994 | 2000 |
Sandy Lyle | 1997, 1998 | 1988 |
Mark O'Meara | 2007 | 1998 |
Mike Weir | 2022 | 2003 |
- No player has won the Par-3 contest and the Masters in the same year, a fact well known by the players.[4][39]
Raymond Floyd came the closest in the 1990 tournament, but lost in a sudden-death playoff.[40] - Ben Crenshaw and Vijay Singh are the only players to win a Masters after winning a Par-3 contest.
- Tom Watson is the only player to hold both titles at once, for four days, winning the Par-3 contest in 1982 as defending Masters champion.[11]
Notes
- a Par is a predetermined number of strokes that a golfer should require to complete a hole, a round (the sum of the total pars of the played holes), or a tournament (the sum of the total pars of each round). E stands for even, which means the round was completed in the predetermined number of strokes.[6]
References
- "The Masters – The Par 3 Course". Golf Today. Archived from the original on November 10, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
- Stutsman, Doug (April 6, 2016). "The day an amateur won at Augusta National". The Augusta Chronicle. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
- "Ted Potter Jr. wins Par 3 in playoff". ESPN. April 11, 2013. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- "Masters 2016: Nine holes-in-one in Par 3 contest". BBC Sport. April 6, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- "About The Par 3 Contest". Masters Tournament. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
- "Scoring". BBC Sport. September 16, 2005. Retrieved September 23, 2008.
- "Historical Records & Stats – Par 3 Contest". The Masters. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- "Par-3 Contest offers big fun in a short round". The Augusta Chronicle. April 8, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- Bingham, Walter (April 18, 1977). "Down the Bobby Jones Expressway". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- "Isao Aoki of Japan, noted for his unusual putting..." United Press International. April 8, 1981. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- "Watson takes Par-3 tournament in playoff". Gadsden Times. Alabama. Associated Press. April 8, 1982. p. 17.
- "Tommy Aaron, winner of the Masters Championship in 1973,..." United Press International. April 11, 1984. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- Fowler, Bob (April 9, 1987). "Crenshaw Wins Despite Dad's Advice Left-handed Approach Leaves O'Grady Last". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- Dorman, Larry (April 8, 1993). "Kite Expects To Tee Off Despite An Aching Back". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- Mayo, Michael (April 7, 1994). "Another Foreign Affair Set To Bloom At Augusta". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- Dorman, Larry (April 6, 1995). "Golf; Woods Has Injury Scare on Eve of Masters". The New York Times. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- Mayo, Michael (April 11, 1996). "Haas wins Par-3". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- "USA: Augusta: Golf: Sandy Lyle wins annual Par-3 Contest". Associated Press. October 4, 1997. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- "Wednesday notebook: Perry prevails". ESPN. April 6, 2000. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- "Wednesday notebook: Is Toms cursed?". ESPN. April 4, 2001. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- "Price wins par-3; Izawa has pair of aces". USA Today. April 11, 2002. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- "Harrington, Toms tie in Masters prelude". United Press International. April 9, 2003. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- Ferguson, Doug (April 7, 2015). "Tiger Woods to play in Par 3 competition at the Masters". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- "Jerry Pate wins Masters par-3 tourney". United Press International. April 6, 2005. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- Mell, Randall (April 6, 2006). "Crane Hopes To End Par 3 Curse". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- "Mark O'Meara wins the Par 3 contest". Golf Today. April 5, 2007. Archived from the original on March 14, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
- "Louis Oosthuizen wins par-3 Contest at Augusta". BBC Sport. April 7, 2010. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- Fine, Larry (April 6, 2011). "Luke Donald wins Masters Par-3 Contest". Reuters. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- McAllister, Mike (April 4, 2012). "Harrington, Byrd share Par 3 victory". PGA Tour. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- "The Masters: Ryan Moore wins Augusta Par 3 Contest". CNN. April 9, 2014. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- Ballengee, Ryan (April 8, 2015). "Kevin Streelman won Masters Par 3 Contest with special caddie". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
- Herrington, Ryan (April 5, 2017). "A Masters Par 3 Contest first: No winner declared after rain washes out the event". Golf Digest. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
- Daniels, Tim (April 4, 2018). "Masters Par 3 Tournament 2018: Tom Watson Becomes Oldest Winner in History". Bleacher Report. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
- Woodard, Adam (April 10, 2019). "Matt Wallace wins Masters Par 3 Contest, denies Sandy Lyle of historic third win". Golfweek. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
- "2020 Masters Schedule Announced". The Masters Tournament. Augusta National Golf Club. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
- "Mike Weir, Mackenzie Hughes share Masters Par 3 title at Augusta National". ESPN. April 6, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
- McDonald, Patrick (April 5, 2023). "2023 Masters Par 3 Contest leaderboard, results: Tom Hoge wins, Scottie Scheffler walks off with hole-in-one". CBS Sports. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
- "The Masters – Past Winners & Runners-Up". PGA Tour. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
- "Par 3 jinx resting on pro's shoulders". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. April 11, 1991. p. 6D.
- Shearer, Ed (April 9, 1990). "Floyd devastated after late collapse". Wilmington Morning Star. North Carolina. Associated Press. p. 4B.