Masters Par 3 Contest Leaderboard: Winner, holes in one, notable finishers, more

The appetizer to the 2024 Masters Tournament took center stage on Wednesday at Augusta National Golf Club.

The Par 3 Contest at the Masters Tournament brought a first-time winner, four holes in one and a host of memorable moments for golf fans ahead of Thursday's first round.

Jupiter's Rickie Fowler was one of the first golfers on the course this afternoon and he led for most of the day to win the 2024 Par 3 Contest.

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Scroll down for the best of this year's nine-hole exhibition:

Rickie Fowler, Masters Par 3 Contest Winner

Fowler's first "win" at Augusta came with his daughter Maya in tow throughout the day as he shot 5-under to win by ... strokes.

One of the game's most successful golfers without a major, Fowler paired with Fred Couples and Jordan Spieth in his winning round.

Fowler will make his 11th Masters appearance this week and his first since 2020. He typically contends with five top 12 finishes in his last seven starts at Augusta National, highlighted by a 2018 runner-up finish.

He made his way back to the Masters with improved play, including a win at the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit last July.

Masters Par 3 Contest: Top 5 finishers

1. Rickie Fowler (-5)

2. Sepp Straka (-3)

3. J.T. Poston (-3)

4. Santiago de la Fuente (-3)*

5. Austin Eckroat (-2)

Top players with no official score

• Kurt Kitayama (-4)

• Gary Woodland (-3)

• Brooks Koepka (-2)

• Harris English (-2)

• Victor Hovland (-2)

• Sungjae Im (-2)

• Tom Kim (-2)

• Shane Lowry (-2)

• Neal Shipley (-2)*

• Cameron Young (-2)

• Van Rooyen (-2)

• Will Zalatoris (-2) *Amateur

Masters Par 3 Contest Prize

Winners of the Masters Par 3 Contest do not receive any prize money or a green jacket, as do the winners of the four-day tournament.

Rickie Fowler will receive a small bowl trophy, however, and a place among historic past winners like Arnold Palmer, Sam Snead, Tom Watson and more.

Masters Par 3 Contest Holes in One

Moments after speaking with the television broadcast crew, Delray Beach's Gary Woodland made a hole in one across the water on the sixth hole to pull even with Rickie Fowler. He enjoyed a moment at the green as his son removed the ball from the hole.

Broadcaster Sean McDonough, who had just spoken with Woodland about his return to golf from serious health issues, was emotional in the moments after Woodland's shot.

• Augusta native Luke List also carded a hole in one on the sixth hole for the day's first ace.

• Austrian Sepp Straka recorded a hole in one on the fifth hole for the third of the day.

• Englishman Luke Donald, a Palm Beach County resident, carded the day's fourth ace on the seventh hole.

Gary Woodland thought he was dying: 'Every day it was a new way of death' | D'Angelo

Notables at the Masters Par 3 Contest

Bubba Watson's daughter Dakota, 9, sunk a long downhill birdie putt on the seventh hole to help move her father's team to even-par for the afternoon.

Ben Crenshaw's grandson then sunk a similar putt with help from Watson as both are left-handed.

Dakota Watson came back to make another long downhill putt with Watson's assistance on their ninth and final hole.

Austin Eckroat, this year's winner of the Cognizant Classic of the Palm Beaches, was 1-2 with Fowler early in the day before Woodland's move. He finished at 2-under and fifth overall in his Augusta Par 3 debut.

Sepp Straka, the 2022 Honda Classic champion, finished runner-up at 3-under.

Palm Beach County native Brooks Koepka shot 2-under but did not card an official score.

More: Austin Eckroat captures life-changing victory at Cognizant Classic | D'Angelo

What is the Par 3 Contest at the Masters Tournament?

The Par 3 Contest is a nine-hole exhibition event held the Wednesday before the Masters Tournament.

The event carries lower stakes and a more family-friendly environment as players sometimes have family members like wives or children on the bag as caddies. Players can allow caddies or those following along to take shots for them during the round, voiding their score.

Here are more fast facts about the Masters Tournament:

• The Par 3 Contest was first played in 1960 and won by legendary golfer Sam Snead

• No golfer has ever won the Par 3 Contest and the Masters Tournament in the same week

• Entering Wednesday, 107 holes in one had been recorded all-time in the Par 3 Contest

• The record score in the Par 3 Contest: 19, Jimmy Walker (2016)

Masters Par 3 champions by year

• 1960: Sam Snead (23)

• 1961: Deane Beman (22)

• 1962: Bryce Crampton (22)

• 1963: George Bayer (23)

• 1964: Labron Harris Jr. (23)

• 1965: Art Wall Jr. (20)

• 1966: Terry Dill (22)

• 1967: Arnold Palmer (23)

• 1968: Bob Rosburg (22)

• 1969: Bob Lunn (23)

• 1970: Harold Henning (21)

• 1971: Dave Stockton (23)

• 1972: Steve Melnyk (23)

• 1973: Gay Brewer (20)

• 1974: Sam Snead (23)

• 1975: Isao Aoki (23)

• 1976: Jay Hass (21)

• 1977: Tom Weiskopf (23)

• 1978: Lou Graham (22)

• 1979: Joe Inman Jr. (23)

• 1980: Johnny Miller (23)

• 1981: Isao Aoki (22)

• 1982: Tom Watson (23)

• 1983: Hale Irwin (22)

• 1984: Tommy Aaron (22)

• 1985: Hubert Green (22)

• 1986: Gary Koch (23)

• 1987: Ben Crenshaw (22)

• 1988: Tsuneyuki Nakajima (24)

• 1989: Bob Gilder (22)

• 1990: Ray Floyd (23)

• 1991: Rocco Mediate (24)

• 1992: Davis Love III (22)

• 1993: Chip Beck (21)

• 1994: Vijay Singh (22)

• 1995: Hal Sutton (23)

• 1996: Jay Haas (22)

• 1997: Sandy Lyle (22)

• 1998: Sandy Lyle (24)

• 1999: Joe Durant (22)

• 2000: Chris Perry (23)

• 2001: Davis Toms (22)

• 2002: Nick Price (22)

• 2003: Padraig Harrington and David Toms (21)

• 2004: Padraig Harrington (23)

• 2005: Jerry Pate (22)

• 2006: Ben Crane (23)

• 2007: Mark O'Meara (22)

• 2008: Rory Sabbatini (22)

• 2009: Tim Clark (22)

• 2010: Louis Oosthuizen (21)

• 2011: Luke Donald (22)

• 2012: Padraig Harrington and Jonathan Byrd (22)

• 2013: Ted Potter Jr. (23)

• 2014: Ryan Moore (21)

• 2015: Kevin Streelman (22)

• 2016: Jimmy Walker (19)

• 2018: Tom Watson (21)

• 2019: Matt Wallace (22)

• 2022: Mackenzie Hughes and Mike Weir (23)

• 2023: Tom Hoge (21)

• 2024: Rickie Fowler (22)

Eric J. Wallace is deputy sports editor for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at ejwallace@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Rickie Fowler wins Masters Par 3 Contest: Holes in one, notables, more