Luke Donald wins Par-3 Contest, ruins chances at Masters
Move over SI cover jinx. Step aside Madden curse. Luke Donald will now join the real curse in sports; the curse of the Masters Par-3 Tournament.
On Wednesday, Donald shot a five-under 22 in the fun before the storm, bringing up the inevitable reminder that no Par-3 winner has ever gone on to win the actual golf tournament.
Donald nearly aced the 9th hole, knocking in the short birdie putt to secure victory, and the inevitable talk that he won't go on to win the big tournament, despite telling our friend Paul Mahoney that he isn't superstitious.
Along with Donald, the highlight of the day was Craig Stadler, the 1982 Masters champion, who had the lone ace of the day on the first hole. The other highlight of the day came in the sense of tradition, as Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer teed it up together. No matter your favorite part of Masters week, watching three legends who have won this tournament a combined 13 times play nine holes is as good as it gets.
It also gave us a highlight, as Player nearly had an ace of his own.
The talk this evening will be about Donald and the curse, and it is the first time in a while that a contender heading into the tournament won the Par-3, but you have to love his attitude about it, and nothing would be better than him winning the Masters so we could never speak of this curse again.
