The Masters Par-3 Contest has become a wonderful Wednesday tradition at Augusta National Golf Club during the week of the year's first major.
Par-3 Course history
The Augusta National Golf Club Par-3 Course opened in 1958 after a design by George Cobb and Augusta National chairman Clifford Roberts. (Tom Fazio built two new holes in 1987, replacing the original first two holes. The course now starts on the original third hole, plays through the original ninth and ends on the new Fazio holes.) Two years later, Sam Snead won the first Masters Par-3 Contest with a score of 4-under 23.
The scorecard for the Masters Par-3 Course comes in at a par of 27 and a length of 1,060 yards.
The George Cobb design was renovated ahead of the 2023 Masters.
Who's eligible to play?
Every Masters contestant and former Masters champions, including those not competing in the Masters tournament, is eligible to compete in the event on the club's nine-hole par-3 course.
Masters Par-3 Course record score
The all-time Par-3 course record of 19 (which is 8 under par!) was set by 2016 Par-3 Contest winner Jimmy Walker.
Who has won the Par-3 Contest the most times?
Padraig Harrington has won the most Par-3 Contests with three wins. Jay Haas, Isao Aoki, Sam Snead and Sandy Lyle each have two wins. Harrington (2003, '04) and Lyle (1997, 1998) are the only players to win the Par-3 Contest in consecutive years.
The curse of winning the Par-3 Contest
However, winning the Masters Par-3 Contest is somewhat of a curse. No player who has won the Masters Par-3 Contest on Wednesday has gone on to win the green jacket that next Sunday.
Augusta National Par-3 Course scorecard, yardages
- 130 yards
- 70 yards
- 90 yards
- 130 yards
- 130 yards
- 140 yards
- 115 yards
- 120 yards
- 135 yards
Masters Par 3 Contest winners and where they finished in the Masters
Click header to sort
| YEAR | WINNER | SCORE | MASTERS FINISH |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Sam Snead | 23 | T-11 |
| 1961 | Deane Beman | 22 | MC |
| 1962 | Bruce Crampton | 22 | T-29 |
| 1963 | George Bayer (P) | 23 | T-28 |
| 1964 | Labron Harris, Jr. | 23 | 43 |
| 1965 | Art Wall, Jr. | 20 | T-45 |
| 1966 | Terry Dill | 22 | T-17 |
| 1967 | Arnold Palmer (P) | 23 | 4 |
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| 1968 | Bob Rosburg | 22 | T-30 |
| 1969 | Bob Lunn (P) | 23 | -- |
| 1970 | Harold Henning | 21 | -- |
| 1971 | Dave Stockton (P) | 23 | T-9 |
| 1972 | Steve Melnyk | 23 | T-12 |
| 1973 | Gay Brewer | 20 | T-10 |
| 1974 | Sam Snead (P) | 23 | T-20 |
| 1975 | Isao Aoki (P) | 23 | MC |
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| 1976 | Jay Haas | 21 | -- |
| 1977 | Tom Weiskopf (P) | 23 | T-14 |
| 1978 | Lou Graham (P) | 22 | -- |
| 1979 | Joe Inman, Jr. | 23 | T-23 |
| 1980 | Johnny Miller | 23 | T-38 |
| 1981 | Isao Aoki | 22 | T-45 |
| 1982 | Tom Watson (P) | 23 | T-5 |
| 1983 | Hale Irwin | 22 | T-6 |
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| 1984 | Tommy Aaron | 22 | -- |
| 1985 | Hubert Green | 22 | -- |
| 1986 | Gary Koch (P) | 23 | T-16 |
| 1987 | Ben Crenshaw | 22 | T-4 |
| 1988 | Tsuneyuki Nakajima | 24 | T-33 |
| 1989 | Bob Gilder (P) | 22 | 37 |
| 1990 | Raymond Floyd | 23 | 2 |
| 1991 | Rocco Mediate (P) | 24 | T-22 |
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| 1992 | Davis Love III | 22 | T-25 |
| 1993 | Chip Beck | 21 | 2 |
| 1994 | Vijay Singh | 22 | T-27 |
| 1995 | Hal Sutton (P) | 23 | -- |
| 1996 | Jay Haas (P) | 22 | T-36 |
| 1997 | Sandy Lyle (P) | 22 | T-34 |
| 1998 | Sandy Lyle | 24 | MC |
| 1999 | Joe Durant | 22 | -- |
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| 2000 | Chris Perry (P) | 23 | T-14 |
| 2001 | David Toms | 22 | T-31 |
| 2002 | Nick Price (P) | 22 | T-20 |
| 2003 | Padraig Harrington, David Toms | 21 | MC, T-8 |
| 2004 | Padraig Harrington (P) | 23 | T-13 |
| 2005 | Jerry Pate | 22 | DNP |
| 2006 | Ben Crane | 23 | MC |
| 2007 | Mark O'Meara | 22 | MC |
| 2008 | Rory Sabbatini | 22 | MC |
| 2009 | Tim Clark | 22 | T-13 |
| 2010 | Louis Oosthuizen | 21 | MC |
| 2011 | Luke Donald | 22 | T-4 |
| 2012 | Padraig Harrington, Jonathan Byrd | 22 | T-8, T-27 |
| 2013 | Ted Potter, Jr. (P) | 23 | MC |
| 2014 | Ryan Moore | 21 | MC |
| 2015 | Kevin Streelman (P) | 22 | T-12 |
| 2016 | Jimmy Walker | 19 | T-29 |
| 2017 | NO WINNER | N/A | N/A |
| 2018 | Tom Watson | 21 | DNP |
| 2019 | Matt Wallace | 22 | MC |
