News

The Masters changes eligibility policy for its Par-3 Contest

Published

9 years ago

Mar 13, 2017

One of the most exclusive events all year just got more exclusive. As reported by PGA.com, Augusta National has issued notices to honorary invitees that only “players in the field and past Masters champions” will be allowed to play in the Masters Par-3 Contest, which takes place on Wednesday of Masters week.

Before this news, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship winners received invitations to the Masters tournament for five years and were considered “honorary invitees” after that period. Past U.S. Amateur champions were also considered honorary invitees. That title allowed the invitees to play in the Masters Par-3 contest, use the practice facility and play in practice rounds.

Those perks are no longer available to the honorary invitees.

The decision affects a number of previous participants including Ian Baker-Finch, David Duval and Curtis Strange. See what those players told PGA.com about the situation below.

Ian Baker-Finch: “As a person and an honorary invitee, I’m disappointed because it was my favorite day of the year. I loved it. I’ll still be there, though, and I’ll watch like everyone else.”

David Duval: “I would never clog up the golf course when guys are trying to prepare. That’s the problem I would have had [with the practice rounds]… I guess [the par-3 contest] could be easily expanded if they started it earlier. But you have to protect it. You have to protect the competitors.”

Curtis Strange: “We had our time, and now it’s their time. I think it’s extremely nice that we’re invited to come back with your spouse. It’s been nice for these guys who want to hit balls and play practice rounds. But times change. I think with time constraints, they want to make it for players in the field. My sense is that the Par 3 was getting a little bit crowded and taking a little bit too long, and they wanted to streamline it. I think that’s fine.”

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19 Comments

TONEY P

Mar 31, 2017 at 11:13 pm

I actually agree with the tournament people. What’s next a Pro am.

Reply Report comment
Miuralovechild

Mar 15, 2017 at 9:44 pm

I wish someone would win the par 3 and the tournament so everyone could shut the **** up and talk about something else. The only thing more irritating is hearing about the undefeated ’72 Dolphins every year.

Reply Report comment
Dave R

Mar 15, 2017 at 8:47 pm

Yes let them do what they want,they will anyway!

Reply Report comment
Mad-Mex

Mar 14, 2017 at 11:17 pm

Its their tournament, they can do what ever they want, don’t like it? Am sure there is 100 people ready to take your ticket

Reply Report comment
Jo Jo

Mar 14, 2017 at 10:09 pm

No more Nate Crosby

Reply Report comment
ooffa

Mar 14, 2017 at 3:22 pm

Same boring course year after year.

Reply Report comment
- C
  
  Mar 14, 2017 at 4:39 pm
  
  Guess you’d want them to move the Players, as well?
  
  Reply Report comment
  - ooffa
    
    Mar 15, 2017 at 8:32 am
    
    Yes, that is correct.
    
    Reply Report comment
Double Mocha Man

Mar 14, 2017 at 11:22 am

I’m still waiting for them to “float” a Cadillac on one of the ponds.

Reply Report comment
- C
  
  Mar 14, 2017 at 2:40 pm
  
  That’ll happen the same year they let fans walk around with actual beer bottles/cans instead of the Masters labelled plastic cups.
  
  Hopefully, never.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Darrin
  
  Mar 15, 2017 at 2:24 pm
  
  You will be waiting a long time.
  
  Reply Report comment
C

Mar 14, 2017 at 9:31 am

So no more letting kids putt?

Reply Report comment
Matt K

Mar 14, 2017 at 8:42 am

You had your time Curtis, not “we.” What about the guy who just won the US Am two summers ago, would’ve had a life of amazing Aprils, or at least when his schedule allowed him to go to Augusta. Sad day for the tournament. Bob’s tournament just got that much closer to the Frys.com classic. What’s next… lets stop inviting the US Mid Am champ, nobody cares about that guy anyway, he’ll just shoot two 76s and be on his way. This probably sounds dramatic, but The Masters is the last bastion of tradition in golf. Hate to see them erode any part of it… cuz usually there’s more to come.

Reply Report comment
- C
  
  Mar 14, 2017 at 9:59 am
  
  “The Masters is the last bastion of tradition in golf.”
  
  Don’t tell that to the R&A.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Matt
    
    Mar 14, 2017 at 12:59 pm
    
    You definitely have a point there… St. Andrews edges Augusta as my favorite place on Earth. Should’ve said “American Golf.”
    
    Reply Report comment
- DeShamBeau
  
  Mar 14, 2017 at 6:40 pm
  
  “Traditional golf”. Hahahahahahahahahaha
  
  Reply Report comment
Forsbrand

Mar 13, 2017 at 5:13 pm

Let Michelle Wie play 🙂

Reply Report comment
- Don Julio
  
  Mar 13, 2017 at 11:20 pm
  
  Settle down.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Jack Nash
  
  Mar 15, 2017 at 11:34 am
  
  With her tabletop putting style?
  
  Reply Report comment

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Tour Photo Galleries

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News

Tour Tech Rundown: Heroic Henley

Published

3 days ago

Jun 1, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Around the world, the golf wheel spun this final week in May of 2026. From New Jersey to Austria, with stops in Korea, Texas, and North Carolina (don’t let me route your next trip) the world’s finest put their golf games on display. There were three playoffs, some known commodities and some new talent. It was the sort of week that we hope to have at this point in the seasons. June and July afford double-digit major events, and perhaps, one of this week’s champions will use this success as a springboard to new heights. Time to run it all down, tech style, in this week’s Tour Tech Rundown.

Thanks to WITBHub, Today’s Golfer, GolfWRX, and Inside Tour Golf for initial research into equipment.

PGA Tour @ Charles Schwab Challenge: Heroic Henley denies Cole

Eric Cole did nearly everything that a fellow can do, to secure a first PGA Tour title. He stayed one shot clear of Ryder Cup player Ben Griffin. He kept US Open champion Gary Woodland and wunderkind Michael Brennan two shots distant. He posted 70 on day four to reach twelve under par. And then, Russell Henley revealed his Dr. Strange cloak. Henley made 47 feet of birdie putts on holes 16, 17, and 18, to jump from minus-nine to twelve-deep, and secured a spot in a playoff with Cole. The duo returned to the final tee, and put on a stripe show.

Both golfers found the fairway off the tee, and Henley improved on his regulation play with an approach to four feet. Cole did himself proud, tucking an iron to a dozen feet, but he was unable to convert the putt for three. Henley is one of the best putters on tour, and he proved it once more by draining a putt for a fourth consecutive birdie, and a sixth PGA Tour title. For Eric Cole, that first victory should come, and soon. He has done everything necessary to earn the chalice lift.

Henley’s Suitcase

Driver: Titleist TSi3 at 10 degrees. Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 70g 6.5 TX
Metal: Titleist TS3 at 16.5 degrees. Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist TSi2 at 21 degrees. Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT hybrid 100 TX
Iron: Titleist T250 4-iron. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf AMT Tour White X100
Irons: Titleist T100 5-6 irons. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf AMT Tour White X100
Irons: Titleist T100 7-9 irons. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 at 48 and 50 degrees. Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Golf Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 at 54 and 60 degrees. Shaft: rue Temper Dynamic Golf Tour Issue S400
Putter: Titleist Scotty Cameron T5 Tour Prototype

LPGA @ Shoprite LPGA: Welcome back, Celine!

Soo Bin Joo had her eyes on a maiden LPGA title. She held the lead after two rounds, then hit a red light at the intersection of can-I and how-To. Joo posted plus-two on day three in New Jersey, and dropped to a T4 finish, which was still a career-best for the young Korean golfer. Instead of a new face, a familiar face returned to the top of the podium.

Celine Boutier was the It Girl in 2023. She collected four victories, including a major title at Evian. Boutier reached world number one status, then simply faded into the background. No wins came her way over the next 30 months. On Sunday, she collected LPGA victory number seven, at the same trace as LPGA victory number two.

Day three saw Boutier manage the windswept Seaview Bay course with six birdies and a bogey. She was challenged in the end by Thailand’s Arpichaya Yubol, who signed for a 66 of her own. Yubol came up one shot shy of the top ladder rung. Finishing in third place at -7, two back of the winner, was Ireland’s Lauren Walsh.

Celine’s Suitcase

Driver: PXG 0311 Black Ops Tour-1 at 9 degrees. Shaft: Graphite Design AD IZ-5
Hybrid: PXG 0311 Black Ops at 19 and 22 degrees. Shaft: KBS Hybrid Prototype
Hybrid: PXG 0311 Gen5.
Iron: PXG 0311 P Gen 4 5-9 irons
Wedge: PXG 0311 T Gen 4 PW
Wedges: PXG 0311 Sugar Daddy II at 50, 54, 58 degrees
Putter: Bettinardi Studio Stock 3 DASS

DP World Tour @ Austrian Alpine: KK? KK!

Kota Kaneko has a rhythmic name. It has strong vowels and a run of voiceless stops in its crunchy K sounds. On Sunday in Austria, Kaneko put a stop to a challenge from Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia and everyone else, and claimed a first-ever title on the DP World Tour. Gouveia did well to reach 16-under par over four days, but Kaneko held firm, two shots in the clear.

Davis Bryant of the USA also forged a strong challenge for the win. He ended in a tie with Gouveia for second place. Kaneko began and finished his final round in a bit of a malaise, but he caught fire midway through. Birdies at 10, 12, and 13 provided the necessary cushion to cruise to the finish line without breaking a serious sweat.

Kaneko’s Suitcase

Driver: Ping Max G440
Metals: TaylorMade Qi4D at 15, 16.5, 21, and 24 degrees
Irons: TaylorMade P760 5 and 6 irons
Irons: TaylorMade P7TW 7-9 irons
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design at 46, 52, 56, and 60 degrees
Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Cruiser Arm Lock #7

Korn Ferry Tour @ UNC Health Championship: Improbably Alvaro

Alvaro Ortiz may have had a bit of scare on the outward nine on Sunday, but he came through in clutch fashion in the end. Ortiz began the day bogey-double, and added another double bogey at the 11th hole. He was mired in a downward trend, spiraling away from the top of the leader’s board. Ortiz found hope at the 14th, where his first birdie of the day tumbled home. Inspired, he closed with birdies and 17 and 18 to catch Ross Steelman at 10-under par, and the duo returned to the 18th deck for overtime.

The extra session concluded in brief time. Ortiz, buoyed by his newly-retrieved confidence, hit the fairway with driver, then approached to six feet and drained the putt. Gobsmacked, Steelman could do little more than smile and applaud, as his run at the top came to a close. The victory was the first for Ortiz on the KFT, and will implant him squarely in the chase for a PGA Tour promotion.

Alvaro’s Suitcase

Driver: Ping G430 MAX driver at 9 degrees loft
Metal: Ping G430 MAX 3W
Iron: Ping iDi Driving Iron
Irons: Ping Blueprint S irons
Wedges
Putter: Scottsdale TR Piper C

A party on the green!

Alvaro’s time comes in Raleigh with his first win @UNCHealthChamp ? pic.twitter.com/2dmtZdbSzk

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) May 31, 2026

LIV @ Korea: Me llamo Joaquin

Chile’s Joaquin Niemann had been away from the LIV winner’s circle throughout all of 2026. This week in Korea, he reminded us that he is still a force to consider. Niemann chased down Taylor Gooch over the closing holes at Asiad Country Club, then claimed victory with a hole-one birdie in extra time. Bryson DeChambeau claimed solo third, one shot in arrears at minus-eleven. Dustin Johnson finished on fourth, one putt farther back.

Niemann’s Suitcase