1 week Ago By Amos Murphy
Nico Echavarria has pretty much ruled himself out of contention for the green jacket before a ball has even been hit at this year’s Masters . Not because the world no.48 is a 350/1 outsider for this weekend’s event, but rather because he won the pre-tournament Par-3 contest at Augusta National.
Echavarria and recently defeated Players Championship runner-up J.J. Spaun needed a playoff to decide the winner of the annual pre-Masters meet.
After a couple of playoff holes, it was Echavarria who eventually sank a simple birdie to finish the tournament as champion. But, deep down, Spaun was most likely thankful he ended up on the losing side of a playoff again, given no victor of the Par-3 has ever gone on to win the Masters that same year. It’s led to the tournament not being taken wholly seriously by several golfers, with many passing off shots to members of their family.
That doesn’t mean there wasn’t any showboating from the pros themselves, with three hole-in-ones being hit. Keegan Bradley kicked things off at the sixth, with Brooks Koepka following in his footsteps on the same hole before Tom Hoge drained an ace at the fourth later in the day. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Billy Horschel’s daughter sparked scenes of jubilation after finding the hole with a deep put, while Rory McIlroy’s daughter, Poppy, who is just four years old, was also on target (after a bit of help from her dad!).
Reacting to the light-hearted preparation, McIlroy explained: “It’s just such a fun afternoon. being out there with Shane [Lowry] and Tommy [Fleetwood] and their families. “We’re all very, very close, so to have the kids out there and them having fun is the most important thing.
It’s a really nice way to end the preparation going into what is the serious part of the week. So it’s nice to be able to get out here and do this. “We’re waiting nine months from the last major so to end your preparations with such a fun afternoon is great.
If you’re not ready by now, you don’t have a chance. Let’s have fun, go home, have dinner and rest and relax for Thursday.” The Masters gets underway from Augusta National on Thursday morning local time.
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