Masters Par-3: Did Rickie Fowler curse his chances at Augusta National?

Held each year on the Wednesday before Round 1 of the Masters Tournament, the Masters Par 3 Contest is a tradition that fans and players alike revere.

Rickie Fowler won this year’s tournament with a 5-under 22 on Augusta National’s par-3 course. He played alongside Jordan Spieth and Fred Couples. Little Sammy Spieth and Fowler’s daughter Maya was the center of attention on Wednesday and stole the show.

This fun round is aimed at spending time with family. But winning a par-3 contest isn’t at the top of the list of things to accomplish at Augusta National.

Since its inception in 1960, no player who won on Wednesday has won on Sunday. Multiple Masters champions have won par-3 contests, but never in the same week as Green wearing her jacket.

There were six par 3s. recorded winners Top 5 of the week from golf statistics guru Justin Ray. The two players with the best results were Ray Floyd in 1990 and Chip Beck in 1993, both of whom finished second in the tournament.

So has Fowler ruined his bid for the 2024 Green Jacket with a win, or will he break the curse?

Fowler won the Players Championship but fell short in all four majors. Since he started playing in the majors in 2009, he has finished T3 or better in each of the four majors.

In 2014, Fowler finished T5 or higher in all four major tournaments. The 35-year-old shot T8 at the 2021 PGA Championship.

Most recently, he led the final day of the 2023 U.S. Open, but fell behind Windham Clark on Sunday. He would settle for T5 that week.

Perhaps the former Oklahoma State Cowboy can reverse that curse, as Fowler has come close so many times on these big stages.

Savannah Lee Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through.If you want to know more about golf, please follow us. @_PlayingThrough On all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirls and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.