Par 3 Contest becomes the Masters’ blessing, and maybe its curse, too

Masters patrons have long called it a curse, but few have experienced it.

This marks the 60th anniversary of the inaugural Par 3 Contest. Nobody has ever won Wednesday’s event and the Masters Tournament in the same week. And that will remain true for at least another year, with the pandemic prompting the Par 3’s cancellation in 2020.

Raymond Floyd came closest in 1990, when the 47-year-old was in line to become the oldest Masters champion. Floyd recorded his only Par 3 victory and seemed on course to snap the curse Sunday afternoon.

Photos: Jack Nicklaus' grandson makes ace during 2018 Par 3

Following a birdie on No. 12, Floyd was four strokes clear of Nick Faldo with six holes to play. More importantly, two of those holes were par 5s. When Floyd lapped the field in 1976, he shot a then-record 14-under par on Augusta National’s par 5s and, with Nos. 13 and 15 looming, he was 10-under on par 5s in 1990.

However, an errant drive on No. 13 forced Floyd to lay up and settle for par. Playing a group ahead, Faldo went for the green in two shots and birdied. Another off-target tee shot by Floyd on No. 15 led to the same result as the 13th. Faldo cleared the water and made birdie. Floyd’s two pars opened the door for Faldo, who stole the tournament on the second playoff hole.

Sports Illustrated’s Rick Reilly wrote of Floyd, “There is a useful lesson in all this. Forget the par-3 tournament. Win the par-5 tournament.”

Three years later, the par-5 tournament was again an afterthought. Chip Beck, a University of Georgia graduate, won the warm-up act and was three strokes behind Bernhard Langer entering Sunday’s 15th hole. Following a center-cut drive, Beck laid up, and Langer coasted to his second Masters crown. Beck’s decision cemented his second-place finish, joining Floyd as the only Wednesday winners and Sunday runner-ups.

Walker races to record

“A curse?” said Padraig Harrington, the contest’s only three-time champion. “That’s absolutely ridiculous.”

Harrington’s had the most opportunities to snap the curse, ridiculous as it may be, but no hand was hotter entering a Masters Tournament Thursday than Jimmy Walker in 2016. That year, the Texan became the first Par 3 participant to shoot in the teens, carding an 8-under-par 19.

Photos: 2019 Par 3 Contest

Walker broke the previous mark of 20 shot by Art Wall Jr. (1965) and Gay Brewer (1973). More impressively, Wall and Brewer accomplished their feat prior to the course being altered in 1987.

The original Par 3 course was built in 1958 when Augusta National co-founder Clifford Roberts enlisted Savannah’s George Cobb as its principal architect. Cobb’s design called for the playing of the nine holes over DeSoto Springs Pond. Three decades later, the club turned to Tom Fazio to add two holes (Nos. 8 and 9) over Ike’s Pond, and Cobb’s opening two holes transitioned to spectator seating. Prior to Walker, the course record for the remodeled trek was 21.

Walker started hot in the 2016 contest, placing his opening tee shot to 4.9 inches and earned a prize for closest to the pin. On No. 2, Walker made a hole-in-one. More crystal. With his wife, Erin, and two sons caddying, Walker never teed up a shot.

“I just dropped it and hit,” he said.

Walker added birdies on Nos. 3 and 4, but his most memorable putt came on No. 5. After missing a birdie attempt, Walker left his ball on the green, when suddenly his son, McLain, darted to pick it up. Walker intercepted his son, calling it, “The only time all day I got serious.”

Walker capped the round with a 35-foot birdie on No. 8 to seal the lowest round in Par 3 history.

“It may never be tied. It may never be broken,” Walker said. “I was out of my mind those nine holes.”

Walker placed 29th in the 2016 Masters, as the curse lived on.

“I don’t believe in curses,” Walker said. “It just hasn’t happened yet.”

Prize with a purpose

After the 1960 competition, The Augusta Chronicle praised winner Sam Snead, boasting the headline, “Slammer’s 23 wins 9-hole par 3 event.” A silver service was awarded to Snead, as, like today, prizes were given for holes-in-one and shots closest to the pin.

A year later, Deane Beman won on Augusta’s short course, making him the first of three amateurs to win the event. Labron Harris Jr. (1964) and Jay Haas (1976) also prevailed as nonprofessionals.

“After I won, (PGA Tour Commissioner) Joe Dey mentioned to Cliff Roberts that there may be a problem because the sterling silver tea set was extremely valuable,” Beman said. “Joe Dey said it could affect my amateur status because it was not a trophy of symbolic value.”

After speaking with Dey, Roberts told Beman to leave behind the prize and that it would be mailed to him. A month later Beman received the gift, which had an engraving to honor his accomplishment.

“Mr. Roberts called and said, ‘Deane, it’s of symbolic value now!’” said Beman, laughing at the memory.

Everyone’s in on it

More than anything, though, the event has shifted from a competition to family affair. Donning white caddie jumpsuits, children of all ages have become the staple. Many attempt putts. Some high-five patrons along the ropes. Others have foot races down the hill of the No. 1 tee box.

There have been 100 holes-in-one, but arguably the most iconic came from a caddie. In 2018, GT Nicklaus, one of Jack Nicklaus’s 22 grandchildren, left his mark on Augusta National. Entering the 2018 Par 3 Contest, the 15-year-old had never carded a hole-in-one. He had also never caddied for his granddad at the Masters.

From the No. 9 tee box, GT sailed Jack’s 47-degree wedge over Ike’s Pond and found the bottom of the cup. The elder Nicklaus called GT’s shot, “My favorite Masters memory.”

“If I ever feel like I’m having a bad day, I take myself back to No. 9 tee box and remind myself of that moment,” GT said. “It was something that I’ll never forget. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing.”

In 2018, Paul Casey let his 4-year-old son Lex caddie for the first time. Casey said his son hadn’t been bitten by the golf bug yet, admitting, “He prefers making pyramids with golf balls.”

“What I love most is there isn’t a stigma behind what the kids do out there,” Casey said. “The members get that. The tournament committee gets that.”

In 12 previous appearances, Casey has never won the Par 3 Contest. He has never earned a closest to the pin honor. He’s never recorded a hole-in-one. But there is one thing Casey believes in: curses.

“It doesn’t stop me from playing in it, but will it stop me from winning it? I don’t know,” Casey said. “If I ever get that final putt on nine I might have to think twice.”

Casey paused briefly to collect his thoughts.

“No, I’d make it. You want to be the one that breaks the curse.”