It was a entertaining day at the Masters this afternoon as they held their annual par-3 contest. Held on the par-3 course, this traditional day of fun before the start of the tournament has never had a winner that went on to win the Masters that year. But this year, Luke Donald will be looking to break that streak.
Donald shot a 5 under 22 on the par 27 course to take home the crystal, followed by former Masters champions Raymond Floyd and Angel Cabrera and 4 under. The shot of the day belonged to another a former champ, Craig Stadler, who scored an ace on the first hole early in the day. With the hole-in-one Stadler dunked the 73rd ace of all time during the par-3 contest, now in its 51 year of existence.
The featured pairing of the day was a trio of legends. Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Gary Player had a stroll down memory lane together, laughing and joking with each other that the patrons just gobbled up. It was a love-fest today for golf’s ‘big three,’ and deservedly so.
Former champion Zach Johnson had a replacement caddy today, Grand Slam winner Andy Roddick. Roddick, donning the traditional white jumpsuit and a pair of dark aviator shades took a tee shot for Johnson during the round, which he proceeded to shank into the pond. Good looking swing though.
Now it’s on to the first round tomorrow, with the ceremonial tee shot at 4:40 a.m PST (7:40 EST) by Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer.