The Par 3 contest on the Wednesday before The Masters is one of the most eagerly-anticipated traditions for both fans and players. This year's running will be held on Wednesday, April 10th, starting at noon ET (5pm GMT).
Offering a last-minute form of stress relief before the gauntlet is thrown down Thursday through Sunday, many players opt to wander round the pitch and putt layout with their families, barely competing against those lucky enough to be invited along.
Part of the reason most try not to win is the fact that no player has ever lifted both the Par 3 Contest trophy and The Masters title in the same year.
Tom Watson is the only player ever to have held both titles at once, for four days, winning the Par 3 contest in 1982 as defending Masters champion. Yet, only two players - Ben Crenshaw and Vijay Singh - have ever gone on to win The Masters after triumphing in the Wednesday competition.
Several have eventually managed to complete the iconic duo, however, while two players - Chip Beck (1993) and Raymond Floyd (1990) - came up agonisingly short in their quest for a double victory in the same week via second-place finishes on Sunday.
Masters Par 3 Contest Scoring Record
2024 marks the 62nd Par 3 contest at The Masters, having started in 1960 with Sam Snead's first victory via a score of 23 on the par-27 layout. There has been a joint winner on three occasions (2003, 2012, 2022), while three other years saw the event fail to take place due to weather (2017) and Covid-related issues (2020 and 2021).
Only one person throughout that time has ever broken 20, though, and that happened in 2016. Jimmy Walker holds The Masters Par 3 contest scoring record thanks to a stunning round of just 19!
He was one of nine players that year to record an ace, along with the likes of 80-year-old Gary Player, and managed to take the title on a staggering eight-under. Tom Hoge is the current champion having carded a highly-respectable 21 in 2023.
Augusta National Par 3 Course Yardage
- 1. 130 yards
- 2. 100 yards
- 3. 105 yards
- 4. 90 yards
- 5. 155 yards
- 6. 140 yards
- 7. 115 yards
- 8. 120 yards
- 9. 120 yards
- Total: 1,090 yards
The short nine-hole course is located in the northeast corner of the Augusta National Golf Club grounds, playing past and around DeSoto Springs Pond and Ike's Pond.
Unsurprisingly, the total yardage of the par 3 course is dwarfed by the record 7,555 yards of this year’s mildly-revamped Augusta National.
In total, the 2024 Par 3 Contest takes place over a 1,090 yard course. The longest hole is 155 yards, while the shortest is measured at just 90 yards. Given the calibre of players to have graced the Par 3 Contest since its inception in 1960, it’s hardly surprising that there here have been a sizeable number of holes-in-one over the years – 107 before the 2024 tournament, including a record nine in 2016.
How many holes-in-one have there been at the Masters par 3 contest?
There have been a total of 107 holes-in-one at the Par 3 Contest!
Gary Player holds the record for the most aces on the short layout with four, while 2, Claude Harmon (1968), Toshi Izawa (2002) and Seamus Power (2023) have all made back-to-back holes-in-one during a Masters Par 3 Contest.
The 2016 tournament saw the nine holes-in-one, the most ever, while the hole that has been 'aced' the most is the ninth - a whopping 26 times.
