Reunion of Big 3 to highlight ESPN coverage of Par 3

Jack Nicklaus will join long-time friends and competitors Arnold Palmer and Gary Player on Wednesday at the Masters Tournament in the hugely popular Par 3 Contest. Golf’s “Big Three” will reunite at 3:00 p.m. to kick off ESPN’s two-hour coverage of the Par 3 Contest.

Since playing his final competitive round at Augusta National in 2005, Jack has made it an annual tradition and a treat to fans to compete in the Par 3 Contest. Each year, he calls on one of his 21 grandchildren to caddie for him during the event, and this year, the bag goes to grandson Chris O’Leary, the 15-year-old son of Jack’s daughter Nan and her husband Bill O’Leary.

“I always attend the Champions Dinner, as it is something very special to me and something I have enjoyed for 45 years,” Jack said. “I stay over and play in the Par 3 Contest because it keeps my association and attachment to the club and the tournament, and it is good fun. It’s a lighter side of Masters’ week, and with a global television audience, it’s another effort in trying to grow the game. It also gives me an opportunity to bring one of my grandchildren to caddie for me. They get to see what I did.”

The Par 3 Contest will air Wednesday, live in high definition from 3-5 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN360.com. The Par 3 Contest is the traditional event held each Wednesday prior to the Masters that includes Tournament participants, non-competing past champions and honorary invitees in a fun, family atmosphere. The event, which began in 1960, was first televised by ESPN in 2008.

The Par 3 course was built in 1958 by architect George Cobb and Clifford Roberts. The nine-hole course is par 27, 1,060 yards and played over DeSoto Springs Pond and Ike's Pond. In 1987, current hole Nos. 8 and 9 were added over Ike's Pond, eliminating hole Nos. 1 and 2 of the original course from Wednesday competition.

In the history of the Contest there have been 67 holes-in-one made, a record five in 2002. No Par 3 Contest winner has won the Masters the same year as his short-course victory. There have been 18 sudden death playoffs. Art Wall (1965) and Gay Brewer (1973) share the course record of 20.