Par 3 and broadcast plans

Augusta National is doing its usual two-speed routine this week: a family-friendly Par 3 Contest on Wednesday, then the Masters Tournament starts for real on Thursday, April 9. The lighter event lands first, and the full broadcast map is already set for anyone trying to follow every hour from home. (bleacherreport.com) (nbcsports.com) The Wednesday event is the Par 3 Contest, a nine-hole exhibition played on Augusta National Golf Club’s Par-3 Course from noon to 4 p.m. Eastern time on April 8, 2026. Bleacher Report notes that ESPN, the ESPN app, Masters.com, and the Masters app are carrying the event. (bleacherreport.com) That contest has been part of Masters week since 1960, and it works like a pressure-release valve before the year’s first men’s major begins. Players often bring wives, children, grandchildren, and other relatives as caddies, which is why the afternoon looks more like a backyard tradition than a final-round shootout. (bleacherreport.com) The format helps explain why fans care about it even though it does not count toward the tournament. It is nine holes, par 27, and the point is usually the walk, the family photos, and the odd sight of a small child handling a white Augusta bag almost as tall as they are. (bleacherreport.com) There is also a bit of golf folklore attached to the afternoon. Bleacher Report says the contest has produced 115 holes-in-one over its history, but no player has ever won the Par 3 Contest and then won the Masters Tournament in the same week. (bleacherreport.com) That odd split is part of the charm: Wednesday is for smiles, not omens. The 2026 Masters itself is the 90th edition of the tournament and runs from April 9 through April 12 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. (nbcsports.com) NBC Sports’ viewing guide lays out the rest of the week in detail, starting with Wednesday morning practice coverage. On April 8, “On The Range” runs from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Eastern time on CBS Sports Digital, CBS Sports Network, and Paramount+, while practice-round coverage runs from 10 a.m. to noon on the ESPN app before the Par 3 Contest takes over at noon. (nbcsports.com) Thursday and Friday follow the same basic pattern, with early coverage on Prime Video and the main afternoon window on ESPN. NBC Sports lists first-round and second-round broadcasts from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern time on Prime Video and from 3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on ESPN and the ESPN app. (nbcsports.com) The weekend shifts to CBS and Paramount+, which is the handoff golf viewers expect at Augusta. On Saturday, April 11, third-round coverage runs from noon to 2 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Paramount+, with CBS carrying the 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. window; Sunday, April 12, uses the same structure for the final round. (nbcsports.com) NBC Sports also says every live segment is simulcast on Masters.com and the Masters app, and those digital feeds go beyond the main broadcast. The menu includes featured groups, holes 4 through 6, Amen Corner, a new “Inside Amen Corner” feed, holes 15 and 16, and “On the Range.” (nbcsports.com) That new “Inside Amen Corner” option is the one built for viewers who want more than pretty camera angles. NBC Sports says Prime Video will offer the feed with extra statistics and a strategy-focused look at holes 11, 12, and 13, the three-hole stretch that usually decides whether a Masters charge survives or falls apart. (nbcsports.com) So the shape of Wednesday is simple: practice in the morning, families and wedges in the afternoon, then the real scorekeeping starts Thursday morning. Augusta always knows how to stage its entrance, and this year the broadcast plan is almost as choreographed as the tournament itself. (bleacherreport.com) (nbcsports.com)