Nico Echabaria claimed a playoff victory in the Masters par-3 contest at Augusta National, as Rory McIlroy and Scotty Schaeffler appeared ahead of this year’s opening major.
Echavarria and JJ Spaun registered five birdies each in the bogeyless 22s to finish the top of the leaderboard at the annual Wednesday event.
The players returned to hole 9 for the third time. There, Ekavaria fired a tee shot three feet and Spoon – who lost the playoffs to McIlroy at the player last month – had to settle in second place after closing his bogey.
Echavarria is making his Augusta national debut – wanting to be the first player to win the PAR-3 contest and Masters in the same week.
“It feels amazing,” Ekavaria said. “Hopefully we’ll change traditions! We’ll see about it, but we exploded there. It feels incredible.”
2023 PAR-3 champion Tom Hoge registered a hole-in-one on the Force Hall as Ryder Cup Captain Keegan Bradley and five-time major winner Brooks Coepka both created an ace on the sixth hole.
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USA Ryder Cup Captain Keegan Bradley made a hole-in-one at the Masters Par 3 contest, and celebrated in style with his family
British Tyrrell Hutton finished third and finished off the pace, with former Masters champions Bubba Watson and Mark O’Miara returning for the fourth time alongside Davis Reilly, Matt McCarty and Laurie Canter.
Former World No. 1 Justin Rose and Rasmus Whaigard posted 25 seconds to finish inside the top 10 along with US Open Champion Bryson Deccanbeau, with Ir Nick Faldo bringing some of the group to 1 under.
After having his wife, partner, friends, children and even grandchildren take shots, many of which weren’t registering scores, only 20 people have carded official totals.
McIlroy was featured along with her daughter Poppy. He received one of the loudest cheers of the day to drill a long-range putt in the ninth hole.
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Rory McIlroy’s daughter Poppy drilled a huge putt in the final hole of the par-3 contest, causing a wild celebration from Shane Raleigh
With Tiger Woods and McIlroy having another opportunity to complete a career grand slam, Schaeffler is focusing on the tournament itself.
When does Masters live in Sky Sports?
Sky Sports Golf Shows live coverage of record times since the 2025 contest. This will bring more action in the last two rounds than in the past few years. Tournament wall-to-wall coverage begins Thursday at 2pm and includes group actions and regular updates until the global broadcast window begins at 8pm.
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Sky Sports brings more Masters coverage than ever as Scotty Scheffler defends the title and tries to claim a third green jacket
The same timing will apply on Friday, but with new additions to this year’s coverage, the Masters Build-Up Show will be live, covering all the action until play is over ahead of full coverage from 3pm to 5pm on the weekend.
Sky+, Sky Q, Sky Glass offers plenty of bonus feeds and allows players to follow the progress of various parts of Augusta’s famous layout, including Amen Corner and more.
Who will win the Master? Watch the live show on Sky Sports throughout the week. The opening round live coverage begins with featured groups on Thursdays starting at 2pm Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or Now streaming without a contract.
