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. 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.
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Augusta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Established | 1960 |
| Course(s) | Augusta National Golf Club |
| Par | 27 |
| Length | 1,060 yards (970 m) |
| 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.
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.