Aaron Rai challenging Masters 'Par 3 curse' after winning contest
Aaron Rai won the Masters Par 3 Contest, but the 'curse' says no winner has ever won the green jacket. Can he break it?
As soon as Aaron Rai lifted up the Par 3 Contest trophy on Wednesday afternoon, his chances to win the Masters tournament dwindled to zero. Or at least that’s how the legend of the Par 3 Curse would have one believe. Through the 66-year history of the contest, no winner has gone on to earn a green jacket at the end of the respective Masters tournament.
The superstition is so potent amongst the field every year that players will have their spouse or child hit the final putt to disqualify them from the Par 3 contest, just so their chances of winning the Masters aren’t affected. Rai, through two rounds, is firmly in the mix despite the curse. He sits at 1-over-par and with a score of 74 on the day.
He’ll be moving on to the third round, and he doesn’t believe that curse has any impact on whether he can come out on top in his second Masters start. “No, it hasn't changed the mindset,” Rai said. “To play well and to win was just a real bonus and to share that with my wife, who caddied for me.
She read a lot of my putts as well, so it was a real team effort out there. So just took a lot of enjoyment from just that day rather than any kind of significance of the past and someone winning that or not winning the tournament. I haven't really thought too much about that really.