The stage is set for the 2026 Masters as 91 of the world’s top golfers come together at Augusta National Golf Club to vie for the much-coveted green jacket. Before tournament play opens on Thursday, the Masters Par 3 Contest will take place Wednesday and include, somewhat controversially, the unmistakably large and rambunctious personality of Jason Kelce.
Kelce was shipped to Augusta by ESPN after making his golf broadcasting debut for TGL earlier this month, and he’s expected to take on a similar role at the most prestigious golf event of the year. The retired Eagles legend joins SportsCenter host Scott Van Pelt and reporter Marty Smith as part of ESPN’s coverage of the Par 3 Contest and will be primarily doing in-person interviews, something he’s very familiar with as the co-host of an uber-popular sports podcast.
On this week’s episode of New Heights, Kelce got some friendly broadcasting advice from none other than golf announcing legend Jim Nantz ahead of the Masters.
“There’s two things you’re going to focus on here, O.K.?” Nantz told Kelce during his guest appearance on New Heights. “Virtually everybody in that field is going to have a caddie that’s special to them, and more likely it’s going to be a family member, a child, a daughter or even a wife. So one is, what was that experience like? And two is, how do you feel about your game going into the tournament? That’s all you need to ask.
“Now maybe somebody knocks a hole in a hole in one and you might ask them about that. But I think people want to know what the week looks like for them and what that experience was like out on the Par 3 tournament. It’s unique, we don’t see anything like that the rest of the year. You don’t need to dig much deeper than that. This is a feel-good event, and you’re going to be the right guy to do that.”
Kelce’s brother Travis couldn’t resist getting in his personal piece of advice, too: “Jason, don’t forget, keep your shirt on.” A cheeky—or should we say, chesty—reference to what the ESPN analyst did during a particular Chiefs-Bills game years ago—for which Nantz and CBS boothmate Tony Romo also happened to be on the call.
For those unaware, the Masters Par 3 Contest is an age-old tradition usually held on the Wednesday before the official tournament where golfers get to play with their family and children on a shortened 9-hole course. (Rory McIlroy’s daughter Poppy famously made an unbelievable putt on the greens last year.) The low-stakes casual competition offers a lighter reprieve to the nerve-wracking tension that inevitably builds around the Masters Tournament, with one ominous caveat: No winner of the Par 3 Contest has ever won the Masters in the same year.
The Masters Par 3 Contest will be aired on ESPN starting at 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday, with streaming coverage beginning at noon. Best of luck to all the participating golfers and to Kelce, who we hope brought with him to Augusta his nicest ironed shirt.
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- Gary Player’s Run-In With Clifford Roberts, More Masters Notes
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jim Nantz Gives Jason Kelce Two Simple Pieces of Advice for Masters Coverage.
