Hello, friends, and welcome to my Super Bowl, Christmas Day and Roman Empire all in one: Wednesday at the Masters.
To me, it’s the happiest day of the year. The players at Augusta National are able to take a few hours away from this week’s grind to spend some quality time with family and make lifelong memories at the Par 3 Contest. And lucky for golf fans, we get to see it all. On Wednesday at Augusta National, it doesn’t matter whose kid is grounded, which players are on which tour or what infant is crying. It’s an afternoon set up to go so well that there’s no chance for it to be anything but wholesome. And that’s exactly what it was.
My coworker and GOLF photographer extraordinaire Darren Riehl and I headed over to the Par 3 Course early Wednesday afternoon. It’s our second year watching the contest together and while there’s a case to be made for each day being the best to attend the Masters, I really am a massive fan of Wednesday (the day of the week and the Netflix show). You can walk the course in the morning and take in all the family time in the afternoon at the Par 3 Contest. The Par 3 Course is a much easier walk — it’s way less hilly and you can walk the whole thing in well under an hour. If you’re ever attending the Masters with young kids or someone who maybe can’t put in 20,000 steps a day, the Par 3 Contest is the best place to see your favorite players (and their loved ones!) up close.
There’s also a mini-merchandise shop on the far end of the Par 3 Course, which carries all the essentials: hats, sunblock, chairs and food. Everything you need for an afternoon at the Masters.
The winners
I’ll get to Strokes Gained: Wholesome in a minute, but I’ll give a shout out to the players who really brought it on Wednesday afternoon.
There were a handful of aces from the pros, which are impressive, but not as impressive as the putting performance that both Jessica Hadwin and Dakota Watson put on today.
Brad Faxon’s gig as Rory McIlroy’s putting coach could be in jeopardy if Dakota Watson keeps this up. I’ll reach out for comment on her hourly rate and get back to you all.
Jessica Hadwin also drained a clutch putt during the event, partially thanks to her husband for the read.
And finally, congratulations to Rickie Fowler on not only having one of the cutest kids at Augusta this week but also on the Par 3 Contest win.
Okay, on to the good stuff.
The real winners
Okay, okay. Enough about good golf shots and low scores. Let’s get to what really matters at the Par 3 Contest: the caddies. I hung out by the Par 3 practice green for a while, where Frankie Fleetwood and Iris Lowry put on a show. Little Fleetwood seems to have a bit of Charlie Woods in him. He was walking in putts, fist pumping and throwing a finger up to the sky when he drained one. He was taking the practice seriously. Then Iris Lowry walked over and asked if she could have a turn with the putter. From there, the two hit alternating putts while their parents caught up off to the side. The patrons went wild when each kid holed one.
By the power bestowed in me by the Rogers Report, I hereby declare Frankie Fleetwood as the Chief Good Vibes officer of the Par 3 Contest. This should come as a surprise to absolutely no one who has been paying attention to this event over the last few years. This was him in 2022.
Little Frankie also has some serious game.
Not only do I love the friendship between Iris Lowry and Frankie Fleetwood, I love the friendship between their dads.
Next up we have the Schenk family. They’re enjoying their first time at the Masters this week, and I am a massive fan of Kourtney. If you’re looking for someone to root for in events, Adam is your guy.
Okay folks, buckle up. We’ve got a lot of babies to discuss. We will start out with Cam Homa, who was rocking an incredible pair of Nike kicks with a green swoosh. These kids have some serious style.
To know the Masters Par 3 Contest is to know that Sammy Spieth stole the show last year, which he and Maya Fowler did again this year. Annie Spieth was pregnant at last year’s Masters, and this year, Sophie Spieth made her official debut at Augusta National.
One of the cool things about being the child of a professional golfer (I think, anyways. I’m not one of them) is that you can learn from the best. Sammy Spieth had his dad lining him up on the tee today and Fred Couples checking out his putting.
The Sammy Spieth and Maya Fowler content was some of my favorite of the day. The second generation of the Baker’s Bay spring break crew is shaping up well!
Crew Sims Koepka’s face was put on display for the fist time today at the Masters Par 3 Contest, and Jena Sims decided to have some fun with it.
The photos of Crew with his parents are so, so cute.
Shout out to my coworker Darren for getting my favorite photo of the day below.
And for the grand finale, I present to you all the best video of the week so far. If Tony Finau ever decided he didn’t want to continue playing golf, he could one hundred percent make it as a content creator. I’m obsessed with all of the Finau family content, but this video is extremely creative and they got an army of five kids to cooperate for it. That in itself is nothing short of a miracle.
Wednesday at the Masters kind of feels like a Sunday to me. It’s a nice fun day to relax before the work week really starts, and it’s always bittersweet when it ends.
