AUGUSTA, Ga. — Rickie Fowler is back at the Masters after a three-year absence, and already he's been able to lift up a trophy.
The question now is whether he will also be able to slip on a jacket.
Fowler won the Par 3 Contest at Augusta National Golf Club on Wednesday, making his way around what many consider the most picturesque piece of the property in 5 under par. That was good for a two-stroke victory over Santiago de la Fuente, J.T. Poston and Sepp Straka, and it earned the 35-year-old American the glittering crystal bowl that goes to the winner of the nine-hole event held the day before the year's first major championship tournament tees off.
While the Par 3 Contest, which started in 1960, remains a beloved tradition, nobody has won that and a Masters green jacket in the same year, leading some to believe in a curse. (A dozen golfers have won both events in separate years, some of them multiple times.)
Fowler played in every edition of the Masters from 2011 to 2020, finishing as the runner-up in 2019, and he was happy to be on the grounds again.
"This is a place you don't want to miss," said Fowler, who won the Rocket Mortgage Classic last July, with the sixth win of his PGA Tour career but first since February 2019 bringing him back to Augusta. "Sitting on the couch, it's one of the few events that you would watch as a fan and professional golfer, but it's a lot better when you're a part of it."
Friends and family are always a theme at the Par 3 Contest, with many serving as caddies in the final hours on the course before the serious competition begins Thursday. There were still plenty of highlights Wednesday, including five holes-in-one.
Baylor School graduate Luke List, who now lives in Augusta, had the first ace of the day, though it wasn't his first in the traditional event. He had one way back in 2005, after he earned his first Masters invitation with a runner-up finish at the U.S. Amateur.
"This was kind of awesome to have my family there. It was neat," the 39-year-old List said. "I didn't see it go in, just heard the crowd. You know how it is. It's organized chaos out there with the kids, but we had a good time."
Straka, Lucas Glover, Viktor Hovland and Gary Woodland had the other aces on a warm, sun-drenched afternoon. It might be the last of the abundant sunshine for a while, with thunderstorms in the forecast for Thursday.
"Now I can put my name on that list," said Straka, a former University of Georgia standout who had a hole-in-one on No. 12 on the main tournament course during a practice round last year. "Yeah, it's a very special thing to do, and a great time to have some of my best friends with me."
Fowler played alongside 2015 Masters champion Jordan Spieth, both of their young kids dressed in miniature versions of the traditional white boiler suits that caddies wear at Augusta National. Spieth's son, Sammy, managed to knock his yellow ball into the water in front of the ninth tee, and for a second it looked as if the youngster might dive in after it.
Nobody had more caddies than Tony Finau, who once dislocated his ankle celebrating an ace during the Par 3 Contest but popped it back into place and went on to finish in the top 10 at the Masters that year. Along with his wife, Alayna, they had their five children in tow, giving Finau an army of six to help carry his pared-down bag around the course.
Bubba Watson, the two-time Masters champion, gave his putter to his daughter, Dakota, and watched her drain a long one.
Grayson Murray's fiancee, Christina, hit an approach shot to the eighth green to within a few feet of the hole.
Scottie Scheffler had his sister, Sara, on the bag. At one point, the 2022 Masters winner who's currently No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking asked her for the yardage to the hole, and she considered it for a moment.
"I think about 88," Sara replied.
Turned out to be more like 100.
That's OK. It was only Wednesday.