In 2025 Nico Echavarria won the Par 3 contest, but then finished in 51st place (+8) at the Masters to keep the tradition alive that has had only exception.
The Wednesday curse at the Masters: This is why nobody wants to win the Par 3 Contest
No Par-3 Contest winner has ever captured the green jacket in the same year, thus the tradition of a Masters curse.
Vijay Singh, however, won the Par 3 Contest in 1994 and went on to win the Masters in 2000. Other players have won the Masters first and then won the Par 3 Contest, such as Arnold Palmer, who won the Masters in 1958, 1960, 1962 and 1964 and then won the Par 3 Contest in 1967.
Tom Watson did the same thing by winning the Masters in 1977 and 1981 and later winning the Par 3 Contest in 1982 and 2018.
Before tomorrow's Par-3 contest, a reminder that Poppy McIlroy showed her dad how it was done last year. 🙌pic.twitter.com/W6VDTufpqs
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) April 7, 2026
But, the curse is no joke. Nobody has won the Par 3 Contest and then gone on to win the Masters in the same year. Nobody. Ben Crenshaw is another interesting case: He won the Masters in 1984, the Par 3 Contest in 1987 and then his second Masters in 1995.
The only other professional athletes who are possibly as superstitious as golfers are baseball players and like Crash Davis says in ‘Bull Durham:’ “A player on a streak, has to respect the streak.” Wise words from Kevin Costner’s character.
No one has ever won both the Par 3 contest and the Masters Tournament in the same year. pic.twitter.com/LFhiLyyw98
— Golfballing (@golfballingpod) April 7, 2025
The last time a golf player got close to winning the Par 3 contest and the Masters at Augusta was back in 1990. Raymond Floyd recorded his only Par 3 victory and was on his way to breaking the curse Sunday afternoon. Following a birdie on No. 12, the 47-year-old was four strokes clear of Nick Faldo with six holes to play. Faldo, however, ended up slipping into a Green Jacket in a playoff for a second consecutive year.
Jordan and Sammy Spieth at the Masters Par 3 Contest in 2023. 😂 pic.twitter.com/KS7YynEs2C
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) April 6, 2026
Winners of the Masters Par 3 Contest
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 1960 | Sam Snead |
| 1961 | Deane Beman |
| 1962 | Bruce Crampton |
| 1963 | George Bayer |
| 1964 | Labron Harris, Jr. |
| 1965 | Art Wall, Jr. |
| 1966 | Terry Dill |
| 1967 | Arnold Palmer |
| 1968 | Bob Rosburg |
| 1969 | Bob Lunn |
| 1970 | Harold Henning |
| 1971 | Dave Stockton |
| 1972 | Steve Melnyk |
| 1973 | Gay Brewer |
| 1974 | Sam Snead |
| 1975 | Isao Aoki |
| 1976 | Jay Haas |
| 1977 | Tom Weiskopf |
| 1978 | Lou Graham |
| 1979 | Joe Inman, Jr. |
| 1980 | Johnny Miller |
| 1981 | Isao Aoki |
| 1982 | Tom Watson |
| 1983 | Hale Irwin |
| 1984 | Tommy Aaron |
| 1985 | Hubert Green |
| 1986 | Gary Koch |
| 1987 | Ben Crenshaw |
| 1988 | Tsuneyuki Nakajima |
| 1989 | Bob Gilder |
| 1990 | Raymond Floyd |
| 1991 | Rocco Mediate |
| 1992 | Davis Love III |
| 1993 | Chip Beck |
| 1994 | Vijay Singh |
| 1995 | Hal Sutton |
| 1996 | Jay Haas |
| 1997 | Sandy Lyle |
| 1998 | Sandy Lyle |
| 1999 | Joe Durant |
| 2000 | Chris Perry |
| 2001 | David Toms |
| 2002 | Nick Price |
| 2003 | Padraig Harrington |
| 2003 | David Toms |
| 2004 | Padraig Harrington |
| 2005 | Jerry Pate |
| 2006 | Ben Crane |
| 2007 | Mark O’Meara |
| 2008 | Rory Sabbatini |
| 2009 | Tim Clark |
| 2010 | Louis Oosthuizen |
| 2011 | Luke Donald |
| 2012 | Padraig Harrington |
| 2012 | Jonathan Byrd |
| 2013 | Ted Potter, Jr. |
| 2014 | Ryan Moore |
| 2015 | Kevin Streelman |
| 2016 | Jimmy Walker |
| 2017 | Canceled – Weather |
| 2018 | Tom Watson |
| 2019 | Matt Wallace |
| 2020 | Canceled – COVID-19 |
| 2021 | Canceled – COVID-19 |
| 2022 | Mackenzie Hughes |
| 2022 | Mike Weir |
| 2023 | Tom Hoge |
| 2024 | Rickie Fowler |
| 2025 | Nico Echavarria |
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