Can Rickie Fowler Be The Man To Finally End Long-Standing Masters Curse?

Rickie Fowler won the 2024 Masters Par 3 Contest with a score of five-under-par, and attention now turns to the question of whether he can seal the double and slip on the Green Jacket come Sunday evening.

Nobody has won the par 3 contest and the Green Jacket in the same week, but Fowler clearly fancies his chances after registering a score in the Wednesday family affair. Many of the golfers essentially disqualify themselves by letting friends and family play shots, treating it as just a fun walk.

However, Rickie played out the entire nine in an impressive 22 strokes to take the title by two strokes from Sepp Straka, JT Poston and Latin America Amateur Championship winner Santiago de la Fuente.

He played alongside close friend Jordan Spieth and Fred Couples, with toddlers Sammy Spieth and Maya Fowler seemingly having a whale of time running about the short course in their Masters caddie jumpsuits.

“The tee sheet fills up pretty quickly, and Jordan and I saw Freddie’s name on the list and figured he’d be able to put up with the little ones running around,” Fowler said. “It’s a perfect threesome we’ve got.”

The former World No.4 is back at Augusta for the first time since 2020, making his way back to The Masters after of an excellent season last year. He won his first title in over four years, finished T5 at the US Open after a 62 on day one and moved back inside the world's top 50.

He comes into the week after a slow start to the year, though, with his best finish only being a T35th from six starts.

"It hasn't been great as of late. I haven't been driving it well, and that's something when you're not driving it well, you're kind of starting from behind the 8-ball," he said on his game.

"I feel like we're starting to get that sorted, and excited to be back in a good spot. I've been kind of making progress and heading the right direction.

"It's nice to be at a place that I've had success and love playing. It's one of my favorites. There is a little more room off the tee, which compared to last week can be a benefit. 

"'m looking forward to that and seeing if we can get something going and get something sparked.

"Like I said, I play this golf course well. I see it well. I love being here. There's a lot about how you feel at a place that can definitely help you play well."

Fowler has played in ten Masters tournaments, making the cut on nine occasions. He was 2nd in 2018 to Patrick Reed and also T5th in 2014.

The Californian tees off at 10.06am local time on Thursday morning alongside Patrick Cantlay and Min Woo Lee. That is if weather doesn't affect the first round, with the Masters weather forecast showing thunderstorms for day one.