The Par 3 Contest is where the participants in the Masters Tournament can let their hair down a bit and enjoy the game of golf. You’ll see Dads with their sons and daughters caddying, or even a caddy hitting an ace.
Listen in as @garyplayer narrates Gary Nicklaus Jr.'s hole-in-one on No. 9 of the Par 3 Contest. #themasters pic.twitter.com/9NTARoy3gE
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 4, 2018
But that won’t happen this year, as last month Augusta National announced there would be no Par 3 contest in 2021.
“Due to social distancing protocols, the Par 3 Contest will not be conducted in 2021,” an Augusta National spokesperson said. “It is our hope that this event will resume in 2022.”
This of course means that broadcasters can’t fall back on the trope that “no Par 3 Contest winner has ever won the Masters in the same year,” and that we won’t get treated to what is one of the great loops in golf. Some call it a course that’s almost as fun as the real one near Magnolia Lane.
The last winner of the event was Matt Wallace, who then missed the cut with a 75 and 77 in 2019.