2016 Masters Par 3 Contest: Complete coverage from Wednesday at Augusta National

Lydia Ko had a day at Augusta National beyond even the imagination of the No. 1 woman golfer in the world.

After winning the season’s first major last month for her second straight major and going back-to-back in LPGA Tour events, the 18-year-old phenom said she was excited to head to Augusta to pick up her golf writers’ Player of the Year award.

If you have Jimmy Walker in one of the many Masters pools that now exist, you may want to make a late Wednesday night change. That’s because Walker went out at the Par-3 Contest and lit Augusta National on fire, setting a new record for the Wednesday afternoon tradition. The Texan posted an 8-under 19 for nine holes at Augusta’s par-3 course, winning the event and saddling himself with the well-known par-3 curse: no player who has won the side contest on Wednesday has gone on to win the main event.

The par-3 course at Augusta was playing, well, friendly this year. Walker’s score was not the only record set. There were an absurd nine holes-in-one, shattering the previous high of five set in 2002. They came almost every five minutes on a manic ESPN broadcast. Gary Player became the oldest ever to make an ace in the contest. Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler became the first to make back-to-back aces in the same group.

The Masters Par-3 Contest began in 1960 with players combining for 80 holes-in-one during the first 56 years. That’s 1.42 aces per contest through last season with a record five made in 2002. That is a whole lot of holes-in-one.

Then this year came around.

There are a lot of great kids participating in the Masters Par-3 Contest, but Søren Kjeldsen’s son is my new favorite. Like many kids, he took a turn playing in the event and attempted a putt. He made it too! That was all great! His celebration, however, was the best of the day.

Yes, that is the Happy Gilmore bull dance. He’s clearly feeling the flow, working it. We added the “Pony” soundtrack because that is what that celebration deserved.

Last year, Jack Nicklaus stole the show at the Masters Par-3 Contest when he made a hole-in-one. This year, Nicklaus got to sit back and watch as Gary Player did the same. The 80-year-old Player became the oldest player to make an ace in the Par-3 Contest when this ball dropped.

Nicklaus and Tom Watson both hit great shots into the hole before Player stepped to the tee. Initially, his approach looked like it was a little wide, but it caught the perfect slope and started rolling back toward the cup. And it kept getting closer and closer until it dropped.

Family is a major component of the Masters Par-3 Contest with a lot of kids joining their dad on the course. Some serve as caddies, others grab a club and take a few strokes for themselves. This little kid attempted a putt but didn’t need a putter to do it.

Soccer golf is a real thing that people participate in and now thanks to this hero kid, it’s been brought to Augusta National. Putters are overrated, really.

Nick Faldo’s birdie putt at No. 7 of the Masters Par-3 Contest needed a little bit of assistance. Fortunately, he was able to convert his putter into a fishing pole and reel the ball into the cup.

Faldo putted from just off the green and used the full slope to his advantage. The ball squirted by the cup and up a slope before slowly trickling back down. Faldo was there to coax it right in, just like it was a a fish.

One of the most fun aspects of the Masters Par-3 Contest is watching pros chase aces. Usually they play with a more conservative gameplan, trying to attack a certain part of the green to set up a good look at birdie. In the Par-3 Contest they just fire darts at the hole, trying for aces. While hole-in-ones are usually plentiful, Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler took it to a new level.

Thomas was first on the tee at No. 4 and he used the slope of the green perfectly to kick in this ace.

There will be no Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy at the Masters Par-3 Contest with both opting out for very different reasons. There will, however, be an entertaining field led by the fan-favorite legend pairing of Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson.

No one very much cares or remembers who wins the Par-3 Contest, it’s just a lighthearted Wednesday tradition and spectacle. It’s a great opportunity for players to connect and share moments with their families. It’s also a chance for fans to watch some of the all-time legends tee it up again at Augusta. For many years, the featured pairing of the Par-3 Contest was Nicklaus, Player and Arnold Palmer.

Jordan Spieth is nothing if not media and, especially, social media-savvy. So after the globe-trotting reigning Masters champ tiredly rubbed his face while answering a question during a pre-tourney press conference on Tuesday, he immediately worried he had created his own version of the “Crying Jordan” meme.

“Me, doing that right there with the cameras is going to haunt me someday when I don’t have a good round,” a smiling Spieth said to loud guffaws in the media center at Augusta National. “Always smile even if you’re -- ”

There will be actual competitive golf on Wednesday at Augusta National, but it won’t be for the green jacket. Instead, players will tee it up in an event that most probably don’t want to win. The annual Par-3 Contest will take place on Wednesday, continuing the tradition that started in 1960, but no player has won the Par-3 Contest and the green jacket in the same year.

A couple of big names will be absent from the contest this year with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy both not playing. Woods, of course, will miss the entire Masters as he continues his recovery from recent back surgery. McIlroy has been a staple of recent Par-3 Contests, but he opted out this year. McIlroy said he decided not to play in the event this year to instead focus on the Masters, calling the Par-3 Contest a “bit of a distraction.” While the event is mostly just for fun, a late Par-3 Contest tee time, combined with an early first-round tee time on Thursday, can make for a less than ideal turnaround.