AUGUSTA, Ga. — Sammy Spieth, age 3, hit a better tee shot by his standards than playing partners Max Homa and Justin Thomas did by theirs on the second hole of the Par 3 Contest at the Masters.
He teed up a driver, gripped it cross-handed and sent his ball about 30 yards down the middle, while Homa and Thomas hit their wedge shots short and right into a bunker.
Sammy’s dad, 2015 Masters champion Jordan Spieth, didn’t bother to tee off. He had enough to manage with a team of caddies — all wearing the white coveralls Augusta National is known for — that included Sammy, 1-year-old daughter Sophie and wife Annie, who is expecting a third child in July.
The record book will show that Masters rookie Nico Echavarria won the Par 3 Contest on Wednesday, beating J.J. Spaun with a birdie on the second playoff hole after each shot a 5-under 22. While the Masters is arguably the easiest major to win because of its small field that includes aging past champions, the Par 3 is much easier because most players don’t even try.
Gary Player certainly does. The oldest living Masters champion at age 89, he made three straight birdies — flirting with aces on Nos. 6 and 7 — to get his name onto the leaderboard, although he ultimately didn’t post an official score.
The same was true of 70 players in the field of 90. That trend likely will continue as long as the winner on Augusta National’s tranquil, 1,090-yard par-3 course fails to win the green jacket. The Par 3 Contest began in 1960, and no one has won it and the Masters in the same year.
“I’ve never really been, like, buy into the jinx too much,” said Thomas, a two-time winner of the PGA Championship, “but I also don’t think I’ve ever turned in a card.”
Rory McIlroy was joined by wife Erica and 4-year-old daughter Poppy, who holed a birdie putt on the ninth hole when she nudged the ball with her dad’s putter and it nearly stopped before it caught a slope and ran into the cup.
McIlroy, who would complete the career Grand Slam with a victory in Augusta, appreciated the chance to focus on his daughter, who interrupted his on-course interview with ESPN.
“Obviously going to bed tonight you start to think about the important stuff and why we’re all here,” McIlroy said during a news conference Wednesday. “Yeah, it’s certainly fun to be out there with everyone.”
Keegan Bradley made the first ace of the day when his tee shot on the 140-yard sixth hole caught a ridge and trickled into the cup. He hoisted each of his sons in the air, and when the Bradley family got to the green, the younger boy, 4-year-old Cooper, ran to the hole, looked down and clapped his hands together at the sight of the ball. He lifted it out and raised his arm in triumph.
Earlier, when the Bradley family made its way down the first hole, 7-year-old Logan showed an impressive grasp of Masters patron etiquette when he yelled at his younger brother: “You can’t run!”
Byeong Hun An’s 5-year-old son, Sun-woo, got a cheer worthy of an ace when he bombed a drive about halfway to the green on the 130-yard first hole. Sun-woo then took out an iron and, after a couple of whiffs — er, practice swings — he hit a worm-burner that scooted into a greenside bunker.
Scottie Scheffler holed a three-footer for a birdie on the first hole, a feat more impressive because he did it with one hand while holding his 11-month-old son, Bennett.
Tom Hoge gave high-fives with a feeling of “been there, done that” to the players and caddies in his group when he aced the 90-yard fourth with a shot that spun back and slammed into the flagstick. Brooks Koepka used the slope behind the hole on the sixth for the last hole-in-one of the day and the 115th in Par 3 Contest history.
Participation is optional, and a handful of players — including Patrick Cantlay, Phil Mickelson and Xander Schauffele — opted out, choosing to grind on the range or practice on the 18-hole course well into the afternoon ahead of Thursday’s opening round.
“This week takes a lot of energy,” McIlroy said. “It’s a tough walk, it’s hilly, and the mental energy you’re expending as well. Get this done, and then just go home, have dinner, relax and get ready for tomorrow.”