Masters Par 3 Contest Winners: A Complete Historical List

History and Traditions of the Par 3 Course at Augusta

Augusta National's Par 3 Course was designed by George Cobb and opened in 1958. Built on a sloping piece of property between the main course and Berckmans Road, the nine-hole layout measures just 1,060 yards and winds around Ike's Pond, named after President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a longtime club member. The course was later renovated by Tom Fazio to refine its contours and green complexes.

The first official Par 3 Contest took place in 1960, and Sam Snead claimed the inaugural title at 4-under par. From the start, the event carried a different energy than the practice rounds that precede it. Players swap their regular caddies for family members: wives carry the bag, toddlers ride along in the caddie's arms, and older children hit shots on selected holes. This family caddie tradition has become one of the most photographed and beloved scenes of Masters week.

Holes-in-one are remarkably common on the Par 3 Course. The short yardages and pristine conditions produce aces almost every year. In 2016, a record nine holes-in-one were recorded in a single contest. Jack Nicklaus thrilled the gallery in 2015 when he aced the fourth hole at age 75, and Gary Player has made multiple aces across his many appearances. The cheers that follow a hole-in-one on the Par 3 Course are among the loudest you will hear all week at Augusta.

The lighthearted atmosphere does not mean the competition lacks intensity. Players jockey for position on the leaderboard, and ties are common. The event has been co-won many times, including by Padraig Harrington and David Toms in 2003 and by Mackenzie Hughes and Mike Weir in 2022. Weather cancellations are rare but do happen. Rain wiped out the 2017 contest, and the event was not held in 2020 or 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Par 3 Curse

The "Par 3 Curse" is one of golf's most famous superstitions. In more than six decades of the contest, no player has ever won the Par 3 Contest and the Masters Tournament in the same year. The streak has held through dozens of winners and hundreds of attempts.

Several players have come close to breaking the curse. In 1994, Vijay Singh won the Par 3 Contest but finished tied for 18th in the Masters that week. He later won the green jacket in 2000, a year he did not win the Par 3 event. Ben Crenshaw won the Par 3 Contest in 1987 and captured the Masters in 1984 and 1995, but never aligned the two titles in the same week. Tom Watson won the Par 3 Contest in 1982 and 2018 and won the Masters twice (1977, 1981), yet the curse held firm both times.

Some players have intentionally avoided winning the Par 3 Contest. Stories circulate every year about competitors deliberately missing putts on the final green to dodge the jinx. Whether pure coincidence or something deeper, the curse remains unbroken and adds a playful layer of drama to the Wednesday competition. You can see our full list of Masters Tournament winners to compare the two lists for yourself.