It’s that time of year again. The Masters golf tournament encompasses everything about the sport that people love: a beautiful, well-kept course, long-standing traditions and fierce competition. This years Master’s started this past Monday, April 6th and will end on Sunday, April 12th. The tournament started with two days of practice before really kicking off with the cherished Par 3 Contest.
The contest took place yesterday, Wednesday the 8th, and featured toddlers sporting miniature white caddie suits, and even famous celebrity Niall Horan, of pop-band One Direction, as an honorary caddie for tournament-favorite and fellow Irishman, Rory Mcilroy. Created by Clifford Roberts, Augusta’s National Chairman, the idea behind the Par 3 Contest is for participants to have a day of relaxation and family time before they enter the high-stakes tournament weekend. Participants in the contest range from current competitors, to past Masters champions and other noteworthy individuals in the world of golf. The day of leisure takes place on a nine-hole course on the corner of Augusta National, and while some participants play every hole others golf here and there, often letting family members or caddies sink puts or attempt a chip. This year’s Par 3 Contest champion was Ryan Moore, who took the title by two strokes. The thirty-three year old professional hails from Tacoma, Washington and is ranked 29th overall in the PGA’s official world golf rating. Moore is certainly off to a good start, however, no competitor who has won the Par 3 Contest has ever gone on to win the overall Masters. Come Sunday we’ll see if this tradition holds out.
Today, the official tournament began with the first of four rounds currently underway. All the golfers invited to participate in the tournament will play their first eighteen holes today, as well as another eighteen tomorrow. After thirty-six total holes a cut-off point will be established, which will reduce the playing field for the coming Saturday and Sunday eighteen-hole rounds. This is when the real fun begins. The Saturday and Sunday of the tournament are often the most exciting, as golfers battle for the legendary Green Jacket, which is awarded to the overall winner of the Masters. In the event of a tie at the end of seventy-two holes, the two golfers with even scores result to a nail-biting sudden-death play off.
The beauty of the Masters is that as it goes on it only gets more exciting. Last year, we saw Bubba Watson, the American who claims to have never taken a golf lesson, take home the coveted Green Jacket. We’ll see if he can defend his title and win again this year. Other noteworthy golfers participating in the 2015 tournament are previously mentioned, Rory Mcilroy, Australian professional Adam Scott, and the young American who came in second place at last year’s Masters, Jordan Spieth. As the weekend kicks off there are sure to be some underdogs who make their way up the leader board, and some veterans who look as though they’ve never played the course before. Either way it is sure to be a memorable weekend, and an unforgettable one for whomever leaves with the Green Jacket.
Live footage of the tournament can be found at http://www.masters.com
Sources:
http://www.masters.com/en_US/scores/par3contest/about_par3_contest.html
http://www.pgatour.com/players/player.26596.html
http://fantasy.usatoday.com/2015/04/fantasy-golf-augusta-national-the-masters
Courtney's Words & Works 