AUGUSTA, Ga. — Like everything else at Augusta National Golf Club, how the tee times are determined for the annual Par 3 contest is top secret. But judging from the pairing sheet that developed for Wednesday’s proceeding, players with wives and toddlers in tow got first dibs on the earliest tee times.
That included 2017 Masters champion Sergio Garcia, who played with Paul Casey and Justin Rose and a whole horde of children of various sizes and ages. Angela and Sergio’s kids, 4-year-old Azalea and 2-year-old Enzo, were among some of the youngest dressed in the traditional white caddie’s coveralls with their dad’s last name on the back.
Herding them together to tee off on No. 1 proved an exhausting endeavor. Taking cue from the gallery guards she has seen posted around Augusta National this week, Azalea ran to the front of the tee box with two dried-brown magnolia leaves and began to flag to the group ahead on the green. When Garcia jogged up ahead to her, Enzo took sensed the opening and made a bee line for the fairway.
Having corralled one by hand and the other by arm, Garcia was able to haul them back to the teeing area. He promptly blocked his tee shot well right of the green.
“It was great fun,” said Garcia, who showed up at the final hole still with his wife, but without the two toddlers. “Obviously they’re still a little young and struggled a little bit. But it’s a special week, and it’s great to be able to bring them back here every year.”
A Masters tradition like no other, the Par 3 Contest was back in action Wednesday after a two-year hiatus because of COVID-19. Part of the Masters experience since 1960, they almost didn’t get this one in either. The morning forecast indicated that spring thunderstorms were going to pass through right around the scheduled noon start. Augusta National’s weather sirens sounded at 11:22 a.m., halting play everywhere on the grounds, including the ongoing practice round on the main course. But the storm passed north of Augusta and ended up delaying the start of the popular Par 3 event only one hour.
That was a relief to all involved.
“Yeah, it’s great for it to be back,” said Lee Westwood, who said he always makes a point to play. “I think everybody enjoys it, the fans, the players, the friends that get to caddie. Everybody likes to see the kids in their little boiler suits out there caddying for their parents. It’s just a nice gentle opener to the week, I think.”
Westwood’s kids, Samuel and Poppy, have caddied the Par 3 for him in the past. But neither child is with him this year. So, Westwood signed up his friend “Dave” from his home course in Northumberland, England, to caddy for him. He joked that he made his bag “really, really heavy.”
Jon Rahm was particularly thrilled to finally get to play with his baby girl. Kepa Cahill was born a year ago, right before the 85th Masters. He is favored to win the 86th Masters.
“I had to carry her most of the day, so it was a little more demanding than usual,” Rahm said after finishing on No. 9 officially with no score. “I was just trying to make a hole in one, trying to get some hardware. It’s something fun to do.”
The Par 3 is must-do for players with young kids, which is a lot. New fathers Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth spoke excitedly about getting to dress up their children for the Par 3.
But Masters competitors still don’t want to win this tournament, which offers a large, engraved crystal bowl to the winner. It’s well known that no Par 3 champion ever has won the main event.
That’s an unimportant factoid for Mike Weir, who won the 2003 Masters.
“I’d love to win,” said Weir, who was leader in the clubhouse when he left the No. 9 green. “You want to come out here and hit some good shots and get a good feel and leave a good taste in your mouth. I might feel differently if I didn’t already have a jacket.”
Weir’s group was the second of the day to finish. He predicted his score of 4 under wouldn’t hold up. That was at 2:10 p.m.
It held up. The weather caught back up with the field, and the tournament was called at 4:10 p.m. with Weir and Mackenzie Hughes tied at the top at 4 under. They were declared co-winners.
The sideshow that is the Par 3 has offered a lot of highlights over the years — and a few lowlights as well.
Jack Nicklaus, who didn’t participate this year, made a hole-in-one in 2015. His son, Gary Nicklaus, made one while caddying for Nicklaus in 2018.
Tiger Woods is among many pros who scored an ace in the contest, in 2004, which produced one of the biggest roars ever produced from the banks of Ike’s Pond. That might’ve been matched in 2016, when Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler made back-to-back aces on No. 4.
There had been exactly 100 holes-in-one recorded coming into Wednesday’s tournament, according to Masters’ official records. Crystal is awarded for each one.
Tony Finau jarred a 121-yard tee shot in 2018, but infamously dislocated his ankle in his celebratory backward jog down the fairway. Remarkably, Finau managed to pop his ankle back into socket and actually played in the tournament the next day. He not only made the cut, but finished in a tie for 10th.
The Par 3 is conducted on a 1,060-yard course that wraps around DeSoto Springs Pond and ends at Ike’s Pond on the property behind the main clubhouse. The winner gets a crystal bowl for low score. But if wives, kids or caddies hit any shots, the score is not posted.
“The Par 3 tournament is just special,” said Zach Johnson, the 2007 Masters champion. “I appreciate Augusta National allowing us to participate in a competitive event, on the hallowed grounds, with family and friends walking alongside.”
