Nicolas Echavarria has just won the only golf tournament in the world that nobody wants to win: the Masters Par 3 Contest.
Every year at Augusta National, tensions cool on the Wednesday of Masters week so the Par 3 course can host a wholesome, family-friendly event.
Players, joined by adorable young kids in boiler suits, unwind for a few hours in the northeast corner of the property and try to make hole-in-ones.
Not all players choose to take part – Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy often opt out to focus on the major itself – while others do not submit an official score as they let caddies or family members hit shots.
But those may not be the only reasons why golfers seemingly go out of their way to avoid winning.
That’s because no golfer has ever won the Par 3 Contest and subsequently donned the Green Jacket at that year’s edition of the Masters.
This year, it was Nicolas Echavarria taking down J.J. Spaun in a two-hole playoff to claim victory.
And he may live to regret it.
The closest man to breaking the curse was Raymond Floyd, who won the Par 3 Contest in 1990 and had a four-shot lead with six holes to play in the main event, only for Sir Nick Faldo to edge him in a play-off.
Even more alarmingly, only one golfer has ever won the Par 3 Contest and then gone on to claim their first ever Masters title.
Even still, Vijay Singh had to wait six years for his maiden Green Jacket in 2000 after winning the Par 3 Contest in 1994.
Ben Crenshaw is the only other golfer to win the Masters at any point in their career after victory at the Par 3 Contest – and he already had a Green Jacket when he won the pre-tournament event.
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But some have suggested that even past champions are not safe from the kiss of death.
Golfing legends Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson won multiple Green Jackets, but never claimed another after winning the Par 3 Contest.
Meanwhile, recent victors on the short course have not only failed to win the Masters, but also performed quite poorly in it.
No golfer has even won the Par 3 Contest and finished inside the top ten for more than a decade.
Recent Par 3 Contest Winners
| Year | Winner | Masters Finish |
| 2013 | Ted Potter Jr. | CUT |
| 2014 | Ryan Moore | CUT |
| 2015 | Kevin Streelman | T12 |
| 2016 | Jimmy Walker | T29 |
| 2018 | Tom Watson | DNP |
| 2019 | Matt Walace | CUT |
| 2022 | Mackenzie Hughes/Mike Weir | T50/CUT |
| 2023 | Tom Hoge | CUT |
| 2024 | Rickie Fowler | T30 |
However, those who prefer their glasses half full might say Echavarria now has the chance to break a curse that stretches back to its creation in 1960.
