One of my favorite national golf writers, Alan Shipnuck, published a column on Wednesday about why he hates the Masters Par 3 contest.
Dear Alan, despite denying you are a curmudgeon, your assessment of the Par 3 tournament is quite cantankerous.
Here’s why I love the Masters Par 3 contest:
I was at Augusta on Wednesday. I walked the main course until 2 p.m. during the final practice round of the week until it closed mid-afternoon as Augusta’s grounds crew — reinforced during tournament week from a volunteer All-Star team of superintendents from around the country — continued the work of preparing for golf’s first major of 2023: the 87th Masters Tournament.
I was captivated by the Masters Par 3 atmosphere. It was a sun-drenched 80-degree day. The first group I saw come through the seventh hole included the Tony Finau family. Tony’s wife Alayna Galea’i-Finau and their five children are featured on Netflix’s “Full Swing.” Alayna’s TicTok posts are instantly viral. Fans lined up along the 115-yard hole were enjoying every minute.
The Par 3 Contest is a televised celebration of families enjoying the game in a relaxed atmosphere. Players’ wives, partners and children attempt chips and putts and launch shots off the tee box destined to splash down. The inaugural exhibition was held in 1960 and won by Sam Snead.
Combined with the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship and the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals at Augusta, it’s a continuation of a thread of positive change at Augusta and in the sport as a whole. The theme is that golf courses should be a welcoming place for all: young, old, all races and genders.
“The power to connect is the power to change,” says spoken word poet Anis Mojgani, who is featured in a fantastic AT&T commercial being broadcast during the Masters. Indeed it…
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