No Par 3 winner has ever won the masters in the same year – and now Echavarria faces the curse.
Nicolas Echavarria may have earned a trophy and a few laughs on Wednesday, but history suggests his Masters campaign is already doomed. The Colombian golfer defeated J.J. Spaun in a tense two-hole playoff to win Augusta National’s Par 3 Contest – a feel-good prelude to the major, but one laced with an unshakable hex.
No golfer in the tournament’s 64-year history has ever won the Par 3 and gone on to lift the Green Jacket in the same week. Many top players have come close. Raymond Floyd, for instance, looked set to break the curse in 1990 before collapsing late and losing to Sir Nick Faldo in a playoff. Others haven’t even made the cut.
This year’s victory saw Echavarria posing joyfully with his girlfriend and caddie, Claudia De Antonio, clutching the modest Par 3 trophy. But the mood may soon shift. Just one man has ever won the Par 3 and later claimed his maiden Masters title – Vijay Singh, and that took six long years.
The contest itself has become an annual charm of Augusta week. Held on a compact nine-hole course in a tucked-away corner of the property, it’s a family affair. Players bring partners, children, even friends to join in. The kids dress in boiler suits, some caddies swing the clubs, and hole-in-ones are more frequent than anywhere else in professional golf.
Despite its warmth and charm, many elite players steer clear. Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy routinely skip it, choosing focus over fun. Others participate without submitting scores, perhaps mindful of the eerie trend. Still, the allure of the event remains strong enough for someone to win – and this year, that was Echavarria.
The statistics are damning. No Par 3 winner has cracked the Masters top ten since Kevin Streelman in 2015, and most recent champions have either missed the cut or ended well down the leaderboard. In 2024, Rickie Fowler finished T30 after lifting the Par 3 crown. Tom Hoge missed the cut in 2023. And Watson? He didn’t even play the main event in 2018.
Even multiple-time Masters champions have failed to repeat after a Par 3 win. Legends like Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson all lifted the miniature silver cup – but never again the Green Jacket. It’s led some to believe the curse doesn’t just block first-timers; it cuts across entire careers.
Ben Crenshaw is another rare exception – though even he didn’t beat the curse so much as sidestep it. By the time he won the Par 3, he’d already conquered Augusta.
For Echavarria, a 29-year-old seeking his first Masters triumph, the numbers aren’t kind. But perhaps they inspire. With no one ever breaking the curse, there’s a first for everything. If he can rise above Augusta’s weighty history and land his first major title this week, it would go down as one of the sport’s great tales.
Until then, he carries a smile – and the burden of unwanted victory.
