Masters Par 3 Contest
The Masters Par 3 Contest is a nine-hole fun event played on the Wednesday before the serious business at Augusta begins on the Thursday.
It is played on the short nine-hole, par-27 layout in a corner of the Augusta National grounds, with the shortest hole barely 60 metres.
Famously though, no winner of the Par 3 contest, which is now televised worldwide, has gone on to win the Masters tournament. Ray Floyd went closest in 1990 when he won the Par 3 event and then lost the Masters in a play-off against Nick Faldo.
Some consider winning the Par 3 a hindrance to their overall chances and will not submit a score. In any event the Par 3 contest is largely about fun, with players often having their children or partners caddy for them, and even play some of their shots.
It is not an event on which there is betting offered, quite rightly, but it is a chance for players to sharpen up their short games ahead of the main event.
In the following table we take a look at the winner of the par 3 event and how they have fared that week in the Masters proper.
Par 3 Contest winners and how they finished in the Masters
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| Year | Winner | Country | To par | Masters finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Sam Snead | United States | −4 | T11 |
| 1961 | Deane Beman | United States | −5 | Cut |
| 1962 | Bruce Crampton | Australia | −5 | T29 |
| 1963* | George Bayer | United States | −4 | T28 |
| 1964 | Labron Harris Jr. | United States | −4 | 43rd |
| 1965 | Art Wall Jr. | United States | −7 | T45 |
| 1966 | Terry Dill | United States | −5 | T17 |
| 1967* | Arnold Palmer | United States | −4 | 4th |
| 1968 | Bob Rosburg | United States | −5 | T30 |
| 1969* | Bob Lunn | United States | −4 | Cut |
| 1970 | Harold Henning | South Africa | −6 | Cut |
| 1971* | Dave Stockton | United States | −4 | T9 |
| 1972 | Steve Melnyk | United States | −4 | T12 |
| 1973 | Gay Brewer | United States | −7 | T10 |
| 1974* | Sam Snead (2) | United States | −5 | T20 |
| 1975* | Isao Aoki | Japan | −4 | Cut |
| 1976 | Jay Haas | United States | −6 | Cut |
| 1977* | Tom Weiskopf | United States | −4 | T14 |
| 1978* | Lou Graham | United States | −5 | Cut |
| 1979 | Joe Inman | United States | −5 | T23 |
| 1980 | Johnny Miller | United States | −5 | T38 |
| 1981 | Isao Aoki (2) | Japan | −5 | T45 |
| 1982* | Tom Watson | United States | −4 | T5 |
| 1983 | Hale Irwin | United States | −5 | T6 |
| 1984 | Tommy Aaron | United States | −5 | Cut |
| 1985 | Hubert Green | United States | −5 | Cut |
| 1986* | Gary Koch | United States | −4 | T16 |
| 1987 | Ben Crenshaw | United States | −5 | T4 |
| 1988 | Tsuneyuki Nakajima | Japan | −3 | T33 |
| 1989* | Bob Gilder | United States | −5 | 37th |
| 1990 | Raymond Floyd | United States | −4 | 2nd |
| 1991* | Rocco Mediate | United States | −3 | T22 |
| 1992 | Davis Love III | United States | −5 | T25 |
| 1993 | Chip Beck | United States | −6 | 2nd |
| 1994 | Vijay Singh | Fiji | −5 | T27 |
| 1995* | Hal Sutton | United States | −4 | Cut |
| 1996* | Jay Haas (2) | United States | −5 | T36 |
| 1997* | Sandy Lyle | Scotland | −5 | T34 |
| 1998 | Sandy Lyle (2) | Scotland | −3 | Cut |
| 1999 | Joe Durant | United States | −5 | Cut |
| 2000* | Chris Perry | United States | −4 | T14 |
| 2001 | David Toms | United States | −5 | T31 |
| 2002* | Nick Price | Zimbabwe | −5 | T20 |
| 2003 | Padraig Harrington, David Toms | Ireland, United States | −6 | Cut, T8 |
| 2004* | Padraig Harrington (2) | Ireland | −4 | T13 |
| 2005 | Jerry Pate | United States | −5 | DNP |
| 2006 | Ben Crane | United States | −4 | Cut |
| 2007 | Mark O’Meara | United States | −5 | Cut |
| 2008 | Rory Sabbatini | South Africa | −5 | Cut |
| 2009 | Tim Clark | South Africa | −5 | T13 |
| 2010 | Louis Oosthuizen | South Africa | −6 | Cut |
| 2011 | Luke Donald | England | −5 | T4 |
| 2012 | Jonathan Byrd, Padraig Harrington (3) | United States, Ireland | −5 | T27, T8 |
| 2013* | Ted Potter, Jr | United States | −4 | Cut |
| 2014 | Ryan Moore | United States | −6 | Cut |
| 2015* | Kevin Streelman | United States | −5 | T12 |
| 2016 | Jimmy Walker | United States | −8 | T29 |
| 2017 | Contest cancelled due to rain | |||
| 2018 | Tom Watson (2) | United States | −6 | DNP |
| 2019* | Matt Wallace | England | -5 | Cut |
* Play-off required. Numbers in brackets indicate multiple winners.