Masters: don't win the par-3 contest!

No player has ever won the Par 3 tournament and gone on to claim to Masters the same year

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

The annual curtain raiser to the Masters, the Par 3 contest, begins on Wednesday, and if you want to be in with a shot of donning the Green Jacket, don't win this one.

Since the competition's inception in 1960, no player has managed to win both the par 3 contest and the Masters in the same year.

In fact, just two players to win the Par 3 contest have ever gone on to win the main event; they were Ben Crenshaw and Vijay Singh.

Crenshaw won the Par 3 in 1987, and went on to win his second Masters in 1995, while Singh won the 1994 Par 3 contest before winning his first Masters in 2000.

It takes an average of 6.5 years to win the Masters after winning the Par 3 contest, so the best bet to continue that trend looks to be Mark O'Meara, who won the Par 3 contest in 2007.

However, the 1998 Masters winner hasn't made the halfway cut since 2005, when he finished T31.

Past winners of the Masters have a much better chance of winning the Par 3. In fact, 20 past owners of the Green Jacket have gone on to triumph at the Par 3 contest.

On average, it takes 9.5 years for a past champion to win the Par 3 contest, so 2004 Masters Champion, Phil Mickelson or Canada's Mike Weir, who won the Masters in 2003, are the most likely former champions to win the nine-hole contest.

The fun filled, calm-before-the-storm contest, where players are often caddied by their children, will be broadcast live on the Masters website.

Afterwards, you'll be able to rule out one player from winning the Masters.

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