Aaron Rai wins Par‑3
Aaron Rai won the Masters Par‑3 Contest, edging Jacob Bridgeman by one stroke and finishing his final hole with a birdie in the quirky, crowd‑friendly opener. The contest also produced four holes‑in‑one — more than last year's three — which made the exhibition unusually lively and a fun thermometer for player comfort. It’s not predictive for tournament winners, but it does set a confident tone for a few players heading into Augusta's official rounds. (sports.yahoo.com) (usatoday.com) (youtube.com)
Aaron Rai won at Augusta National before the Masters even started, but it was the one event players joke you do not want to win. He shot 6-under 21 in Wednesday’s nine-hole Par-3 Contest and beat Jacob Bridgeman by one stroke. (golfweek.usatoday.com) He got there with a birdie on the last hole, which turned a light exhibition into a real finish. Johnny Keefer also ended the day tied for second, one shot behind Rai. (sports.yahoo.com) The Masters Par-3 Contest is not the tournament itself. It is a Wednesday tradition at Augusta National, played over a separate nine-hole short course with holes ranging from about 90 to 155 yards. (sportingnews.com) That setup changes the mood completely. Instead of four pressure-packed rounds on the main course, players walk a short course with spouses, children, and friends often serving as caddies, which is why the afternoon looks more like a family picnic with wedges than a major championship warmup. (augustachronicle.com) This year’s version got louder than usual because there were four holes-in-one. Justin Rose, Keegan Bradley, Tommy Fleetwood, and Wyndham Clark all made aces, topping the three from last year. (golfchannel.com) Bradley’s shot came with a bit of history attached. Golf Channel reported he became the first player in Par-3 Contest history to make a hole-in-one in back-to-back years. (golfchannel.com) The odd part of winning this event is the superstition that comes with it. No player has ever won the Par-3 Contest and then won that same week’s Masters Tournament, which is why Yahoo Sports called Rai’s victory “unfortunately” timed. (sports.yahoo.com) The history behind that joke is specific, not vague. Ben Crenshaw won the Par-3 Contest in 1987 and later won a Masters in 1995, while Vijay Singh won the Par-3 Contest in 1994 and later won a Masters in 2000, but neither man did both in the same year. (sports.yahoo.com) So Rai did not leave Wednesday with the green jacket favorite label. He left with a glass trophy, a birdie finish, and the kind of relaxed, sharp short-game display players would rather carry into Thursday than any superstition. (cbssports.com)
