
Who won the par 3 contest at Masters 2025? Nico Echavarria's victory may be a bad omen.
Thursday marked the start of the 89th Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, but the competition on the famed course got started on Wednesday with the annual Par 3 Contest before the major tournament.
While the Wednesday event is a family-oriented event that features more laughs and smiles than intensity, any chance to claim a title at ANGC is one worth taking seriously. Nicolas Echavarria struck the perfect balance there as he won the Par 3 contest in a playoff against J.J. Spaun.
Echavarria was five-under par through nine holes and took down Spaun, who bogeyed the second playoff as Nico birdied for the win.
Par 3 Contest Leaderboard:
T-1. Nicolas Hechavarria, -5
T-1. J.J. Spaun, -5
3. Tyrell Hatton, -4
T-4. Bubba Watson, -3
T-4. Mark O'Meara, -3
T-4. Davis Riley, -3
T-4. Matt McCarty, -3
T-4. Laurie Canter, -3
T-9. Rasmus Højgaard, -2
T-9. Justin Rose, -2
T-9. Bryson DeChambeau, -2
While it's true no one has ever won the Par 3 Contest and the green jacket in the same year, Echavarria was already facing the weight of history at Augusta before collecting the crystal on Wednesday evening. The 30-year-old from Colombia is hoping to become the first Masters debutant to win the tournament since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.
Maybe two negatives will equal a positive for Echavarria as he looks to wow Augusta in his first time out.

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a day ago
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Had it been around just a couple of years ago, it's the type of place that might have kept an elite New England talent such as Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up It's a model proven by the pioneer in this realm, IMG Academy of Bradenton, Fla., which for decades has consistently sent top-flight athletes to the college and pro ranks. Advertisement 'We're trying to create the IMG Academy of the North,' said Peter Masters, the founder of MAI. 'New England has the best private school market in the world and so many students that are heading to private schools are just looking for better athletics than their public schools can offer, but all the schools are still doing the same training that they've been doing for the last 80 years — three sports, three-month seasons, shorter schedules, history teachers and admissions directors as coaches and they don't have full-time professional people. 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Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff 'It's such a benefit to this community,' she said. 'It's like a jackpot for all the benefits we'll see. There will be some growing pains with school traffic or fencing traffic, but that's really it. There's not a lot of downside.' The 190 full-time jobs MAI says it will create caught the attention of the state. This summer, MAI was one of eight projects the Massachusetts Economic Assistance Coordinating Council approved for participation in the Economic Development Incentive Program. Over five years, the school will receive $2.85 million in tax credits. State Representative Kate Hogan of Stow, along with Driscoll, helped steer state support to MAI, citing it as one of the 'strong private-public partnerships that are critical for the Massachusetts economy. 'It's a project that will have a transformative effect for my small town and also will be an incredible asset to the Commonwealth. 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