Par 3 contest!

[Ben]

This did absolutely nothing for me. Too much watching kids putting, or watching Jack Nicklaus take 20 minutes to execute a putt of his own.

I think a much better idea for a Wednesday broadcast would be to televise practice rounds. I think watching Tiger go through a typical practice round routine would be a much more entertaining.

[MPS67]

I watched a few minutes of it on ESPN Live streaming. It was cute to see all of the children participating. The thing I noticed was that there was a lot of abuse of the greens. One of the little girls putting seemed to almost drag and scrape her ball in from 2ft out and another boy just dropped his dad's putter and the toe kind of chunked the surface. Are these the same holes on which the players will soon compete?

[Lefty731PM]

I watched a few minutes of it on ESPN Live streaming. It was cute to see all of the children participating. The thing I noticed was that there was a lot of abuse of the greens. One

Gotta say that this is the kind of thing that makes me sick - like PM's daughters being pushed out onto the green to "spontaneously" hug him. It's all about pros and their wives trying to show how cute their kids are. Who cares? Put a 3 year old in a large pair of white overalls and a big cap and waiting for the oohs and aahs is a schmaltzy piece of crap. You can even see that the players are quite competitive about it. Almost as bad as seeing the fake blonde and fake tanned WAGs in their matching outfits at the Ryder Cup and President's Cup.

[BASHERBAKER69]

It was great to see Ian Baker Finch's name on the leaderboard.... Jack played the event like his life depended on it- as always..was great to see.

[MrKadash]

I took it for what it was worth, a fun way to spend an afternoon at Augusta. Nicklaus has always been deliberate over a putt, but I think it was enhanced during the contest because he has been away for so long he probably didn't want to embarrass himself. I admit I didn't watch it much.

[Avid Golfer]

This did absolutely nothing for me. Too much watching kids putting, or watching Jack Nicklaus take 20 minutes to execute a putt of his own.

For those that didn't like it look at it this way. They could have not televised it, you could have not seen Agusta's par 3 course, and you could have not gotten a glimps of state of some of the players short games.

I have no interest in watching Woods practice round they already show too much of him as it is on tv. I'd much rather see how the other players games are for the short shots (which will be important in the tournament when the players miss greens). The greens were supposed to be good reflections of the greens on the tournament course, so players who were putting well on the par 3 might carry that over to their rounds.

[crawf061]

Are these the same holes on which the players will soon compete?

No, these greens were part of a 9-hole par 3 course on Augusta National. That is why most of the holes were ridiculously short.

They could have not televised it

I think that is what everyone should keep in mind. This was not meant to be some big competition between the players. Some take it more serious than others. The purpose of the event though is to relieve some of the stress of playing in the first major of the year.

[g-funk13]

I'll be watching hopefully. Might tee off at Noon so might have to TiVo it.

yeah man. I am holding him in my lap for a lot of TV golf. Trying to get it into his subconscious!

[Shindig]

A day later, I remember the holes in one the most. Especially the one for a par.

No, these greens were part of a 9-hole par 3 course on Augusta National. That is why most of the holes were ridiculously short.

If I remember correctly, they're holes three through eleven of an 11-hole par-3 course. I forget the details of this. Maybe I heard it yesterday? Did anyone else hear similarly?

[g-funk13]

A day later, I remember the holes in one the most. Especially the one for a par.

"The Par-3 Course was added to the grounds of Augusta National, in an area near Augusta's No. 10 hole, in 1958. It was designed by Clifford Roberts and architect George Cobb (Tom Fazio later did some work on the short course, too). The Par-3 Course is 1,060 yards in length and plays to a par of, surprise, 27. DeSoto Springs Pond and Ike's Pond serve as water hazards on the course.

The first Par-3 Contest was held in 1960, and it's been played every year since. The contest is held on Wednesday, the day before the tournament, and is open to the field for that year's Masters, plus former champions in attendance and "Honorary Invitees." Sam Snead won the first Par-3 Contest. Jack Nicklaus has never won. The contest record is 20, held by Art Wall and Gay Brewer." No wonder Jack took so long over his putts.

[Shindig]

OK, so another question. It seems to be that eligibility for the par-3 contest is a superset of Masters Invitees. For example, I believe that anyone who has won any of the four majors - ever - is invited to the par-3 contest. I think former US and British Amateur champions are, too.

What I'm wondering about is this: seeing as how there were professionals playing on Wednesday who were not in the Masters but had won majors in the past, it doesn't look like it's an honorary invitation, the way some Masters invites are. Were there any former US or British Amateur champions in the field, other than ones who qualified otherwise? If they were invited based off victories in those events, was the invitation conditional on amateur status? Could Colt Knost have played in the par-3 contest, had he wanted? How about Ricky Barnes or Nick Flanagan?

[iacas]

If I remember correctly, they're holes three through eleven of an 11-hole par-3 course. I forget the details of this. Maybe I heard it yesterday? Did anyone else hear similarly?

I think holes 1 and 2 are open most of the year, and they shut down what we know as holes 8 and 9. So the members only play nine holes also, but they're a different 1 and 2, then the holes 1-7 that we saw. I don't believe they can play all 11.

OK, so another question. It seems to be that eligibility for the par-3 contest is a superset of Masters Invitees. For example, I believe that anyone who has won any of the four majors - ever - is invited to the par-3 contest. I think former US and British Amateur champions are, too.

Yes, Jim Nantz made the comment that Drew Weaver could play forever in the tournament if he wanted.

What I'm wondering about is this: seeing as how there were professionals playing on Wednesday who were not in the Masters but had won majors in the past, it doesn't look like it's an honorary invitation, the way some Masters invites are. Were there any former US or British Amateur champions in the field, other than ones who qualified otherwise? If they were invited based off victories in those events, was the invitation conditional on amateur status? Could Colt Knost have played in the par-3 contest, had he wanted? How about Ricky Barnes or Nick Flanagan?

Colt Knost probably didn't play because visiting Augusta would have made him regret not having stayed an amateur this summer.

Ricky Barnes, etc. could have played, yes, but I imagine their time (and money) is better spent elsewhere - like practicing or something. It's probably expensive to fly to Augusta just for a par three tournament almost nobody takes seriously. I liked the suggestion by someone that they give an exemption into the Masters for the par-three winner for that year or the next year. Maybe then some of those guys would play, and others would take it a bit more seriously. Too many kids running amok. Put an age limit on it and let them caddy only. Let them putt on one hole only and it all counts for daddy's score.

[BASHERBAKER69]

ive got Colt Knost on my Facebook- it really is him. A rather unique character.