The Masters: Par 3 Contest A Family Affair On Wednesday

It was a relaxed, fun atmosphere at Augusta National Wednesday for the Masters’ Par 3 contest, before the weather cut the event short. It was a lighthearted, family-oriented event that saw just about everybody from the player’s kids to their parents getting involved. Here are some of the most memorable moments from Wednesday’s action.

It was a family affair for everyone involved. Jon Rahm was interviewed with his son Kepa, joking that Kepa was the reason he almost missed the tournament last year. He joked with Michael Collins that he’d teach his son the proper putting motion by putting him to work sweeping around the house.

Charl Schwartzel stood over his daughter Olivia and helped her make a great mid-range putt. His son, on the other hand, was all over the place while nearly grabbing another player’s rolling putt off the green. He then almost took his driver to another ball off the fringe a few holes later, before being stopped by his mother.

Sergio Garcia and Paul Casey played together, and their kids seemed to be hitting it off well, picking flowers, and holding hands during Sergio’s interview. Talor Gooch and Erik Van Rooyen were both carrying young babies in their arms as they made their way around the course.

Jack Nicklaus joined the booth and talked about how meaningful it was to have all 22 of his grandchildren caddy for him over the years in the contest. The production crew surprised him with a video montage narrated by his wife Barbara. He was visibly emotional after watching, and lightened the mood by joking that he couldn’t reach three of the holes from the tee anymore.

Harold Varner III seemed to be the only current golfer interested in actually winning the contest. There is a great amount of superstition surrounding the fact that no golfer has ever won the Par 3 contest and The Masters in the same year. Many golfers joked that they’d only try to win after already securing a green jacket.

No golfer has ever won the Masters after winning the Par 3

Jason Kokrak holed the only ace of the day on hole four, but his sons seemed unimpressed. While the rest of the crowd cheered, his boys stayed seated, looking uninterested and one of them covered his ears from the noise.

Ever the jokester, Nick Faldo pretended to sweep the grass with his putter, mocking a curling motion during a long putt that Mike Weir dropped. He would finish his round with a between the legs putt on hole nine.

Max Homa’s wife Lacey made a great mid-range putt on hole three, and Collin Morikawa’s fiancée, a former college golfer, made a tough downhill putt for him. Lucas Herbert’s girlfriend hit a ball into the water with one of her first-ever golf swings, but to be fair it was pretty solid contact.

With one of the final shots of the day, Sungjae Im’s father stuck the green on hole #9 right before the final weather horn was blown. It was announced that the contest would officially be called off at 3:52 pm.

At the end of the day, Mike Weir and Mackenzie Hughes would end up sharing the title. At first, it was announced that there was a three-way tie, but a scoring error was corrected, moving Kevin Na back into second place.