Eliminating honorary invitees from Par 3 saddens some

Steve Melnyk remembers a time when pairings for the Par-3 Contest weren’t made in advance.

“You just got a game with some guys and walked to the first tee and started playing,” the former U.S. and British Amateur champion and Jacksonville, Fla., businessman said Tuesday. “One day, back when I was on the PGA Tour (in the 1970s), Vinny Giles and I went to the first tee and there was this older gentleman just sitting by himself on the bench. He asked if he could join us.”

It was Ralph Guldahl, winner of the 1939 Masters.

“We had a delightful time,” Melnyk said. “He kept up.”

Melnyk, who became an honorary invitee when he got his amateur status back in 2006, has also played the Par-3 with Ben Crenshaw, Nathaniel Crosby, Rich Beem, Matt Kuchar and Matthew Fitzpatrick.

Melnyk watched Crenshaw make his first-ever hole-in-one.

“I know … I couldn’t believe it either,” Melnyk said. “But Ben said it was his first. That was special.”

It’s memories like those that will have to stay memories for Melnyk and other professional and amateur major champions with Augusta National Golf Club’s recent decision to eliminate honorary invitees – those who won the U.S. Open, British Open, PGA or U.S. or British amateurs, but not a Masters – from playing the Par-3 Contest or practice rounds.

Those invitees, such as Melnyk, Giles, 1976 U.S. Open champion Jerry Pate, 2002 PGA champion Rich Beem and 2001 British Open champion David Duval, received letters this winter advising them that they would still be invited to the tournament. But competing in the Par-3 or playing the course is no longer part of their week.

“It had to end sometime, and it was this year,” said Hubert Green, who won the 1977 U.S. Open and the 1985 PGA. “It’s their party. It’s their tournament.”

Although the club has yet to formally announce the change in policy or the reason, the intent is likely to reduce the field of the Par-3, which has become increasingly popular with ESPN airing portions of the Wednesday contest..

More players in the Masters field have played in the event and have taken the opportunity to have children, wives, girlfriends and other relatives serve as their caddies.

With feature groups such as the “Big Three” (Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Arnold Palmer) signing autographs and posing for selfies, and toddlers trying to keep up with their fathers, the last few groups in the Par-3 have struggled to beat the setting sun in recent years.

Last year, 10 honorary invitees played in the Par-3, which will reduce the field for today’s 58th Par-3 Contest by about three or four groups.

“It’s sad, but I get it, too,” said two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson. “It’s taking three hours to play a short course. When you’re talking about a major event, that’s almost tougher than a pro-am. If you get the wrong tee time, say at 3 p.m. and now you’re teeing off at 9 a.m. the next day, I’m going to cut this out.”

Giles, who qualified for a Masters invitation nine times and was a U.S. and British Amateur champion, agrees with the club’s decision.

“I totally understand,” he said. “It got to be too congested. Last year, they had trouble finishing. I think it’s great for the patrons to get to see these guys in a different atmosphere, and they don’t need us. We’re very fortunate they still ask us to come back.”

Giles said he last played a practice round three years ago, with Melnyk and Pate.

“It was about 4:30 on a Tuesday afternoon, no one else was around … it was the only reason I went out there,” he said. “We weren’t going to bother anyone. But the golf course is too long anyway. It was fun to see it. It was fun to see how damn short I’ve gotten. But it’s not something I’m going to miss doing again.”

Melnyk said he will miss the Par-3 Contest most of all.

“I respect their decision to take away that privilege, if you will,” he said. “I’m disappointed, but I understand. I had plenty of times to play it, both when I was on the Tour and as an honorary invitee, but I’m still disappointed we can’t play.”

Giles said it’s enough returning to Augusta and standing under the large oak trees behind the clubhouse on a warm, sunny April day to catch up with old friends.

“To me, that is the really special nature of this event,” he said. “It’s not like anything else. It’s the same venue every year and you come back and see the same people every year. It’s just that we’re all a year older.”