Edited by Anand Datla
April 09, 2015: The festivities have begun at The Masters. The Par-3 event saw camaraderie and warmth, but it also ended in a playoff underlining the competitive juices that are flooding Georgia this week. Anirban Lahiri had a mixed day on the field, finishing the event at +2, seven strokes behind the leaders Kevin Streelman and Camilo Villegas. Those two men went into a playoff that was won by Streelman.
The playoff was a long affair, when Kevin Streelman beat Camilo Villegas in a three-hole playoff after they had tied at 5-under par. “Really fun day, especialy to have Ethan with me here,” Streelman said. “This isn’t about me today. It’s about helping him out and showing him a great day and see if we can make another birdie and win it.”
It tied the record for the longest playoff and was the sixth in Par 3 Contest history that lasted three holes. Nicklaus was one of four players making five holes-in-one Wednesday (three at No. 4), tying the record set in 2002. Villegas had two aces, at Nos. 4 and 8, and became only the third player to have two in the same year. Trevor Immelman (No. 5) and Matias Dominguez (No. 4) had the other aces.
Woods returned to play the Par 3 Contest for the first time since 2004, when he had made a hole-in-one at No. 8 while playing with Arnold Palmer and Mark O’Meara.
A beaming Woods was joined by his daughter, Sam, who tapped in a couple of putts, and his son, Charlie, who had a towel around his shoulder and seemed to revel in making sure Dad’s irons were cleaned spotless. Woods’ girlfriend, Lindsey Vonn, also helped tend to the kids, whom Woods credited with getting him back in the Par 3 Contest.
“The kids were excited last year watching the Par 3 Contest,” said Woods, who missed last year’s Masters after back surgery. “I was laying in bed watching it, and they kept bringing it up and bringing it up. It was a little bit from both of them.”
Still, Tiger has a superstitious streak in him, and knows that no player who won the Par 3 Contest has won the Masters in the same year.
“Have fun, enjoy it — and don’t win,” Woods had said as he headed for the first tee.
McIlroy also let Horan, who carries a respectable handicap, hit a tee shot at No. 9. The moment appeared to unnerve Horan, who pulled the shot low and left into the pond. “Very different,” Horan said. “I do perform to a lot of people, but this is a very different audience. We’re performing for their parents today. It was a lot of pressure.”
