The Masters :: Par 3 in pics

Jack Nicklaus rolled back the years at the Masters Par 3 contest yesterday with his first ever ace at Augusta National.

The 75-year-old, a six-time winner at the Masters, achieved the feat on the fourth hole and celebrated in style with playing partners Ben Crenshaw and Gary Player, as well as caddies and fans on the tee box.

The contest on the eve of the Masters is always a relaxed occasion with players taking the opportunity to invite friends, wives, girlfriends and children out onto the course to soak up the pre-tournament atmosphere.

Tiger Woods appeared yesterday for the first time since 2004 alongside girlfriend Lindsey Vonn and children Sam, seven, and Charlie, six.

Woods’ score was disqualified after Sam putted on one of the holes, but the 39-year-old was adamant he didn’t want to win anyway with the hoodoo surrounding Par 3 winners never going on to win the Masters itself.

Afterwards, Woods tweeted:

World No.1 Rory McIlroy had a caddie ten times as famous as him, if you go by Twitter followers anyway, in One Direction’s Niall Horan.

And although the popstar admitted to having enjoyed a great experience carrying the 25-year-old’s bag, there were a couple of embarrassing moments as he made a mess of his tee shot on the ninth before hitting the deck as the pair prepared to speak to Sky Sports’ Kirsty Gallacher.

The embarrassed Irishman tweeted:

Check out this gallery from the Par 3 contest below.