While the Masters Par 3 Contest is making its return to Augusta this year, a familiar face will not be partaking in the event.
Golf legend Jack Nicklaus announced that he's "done" playing the family event. The 82-year-old had previously played in the event every year.
Nicklaus revealed his decision while discussing the spectacle of the Masters with GolfWeek.
"In many ways it is the start of the golfing season," Nicklaus said. "It certainly is the start of the major championship season. Even though I don't play anymore, it's fun to be there. It's fun to go to the Masters dinner. I'm done with the Par 3, but toward the end of my career, I used to play every year. But I just can't play anymore."
The event was canceled the last two years due to COVID-19, so 2019 marks the final time Nicklaus will have participated in the shortened nine-hole competition.
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With Nicklaus opting for the role of observer rather than competitor at the Masters Par 3 Contest, he ends his run being a part of one of the best recent memories at the event. In 2018, his grandson, GT, aced the final hole at the event, bringing Nicklaus to tears.
Watch Jack Nicklaus' grandson, Gary, ace the final hole of the 2018 Par 3 Contest. #themasters pic.twitter.com/pk2FTqprwv
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 4, 2018
"What I did doesn’t make any difference to me," Nicklaus said in an interview with ESPN at the time. "Watching your grandson do something, it’s really special. I got a few tears."
Nicklaus is synonymous with the green jacket at the Masters. The golfer owns the record for most Masters wins with six.
He won his first in 1963 before going back-to-back in 1965 and 1966. He won his fourth jacket in 1972, fifth in 1975 and his final one in 1986 as the tournament's oldest winner at age 46. It was his 18th and final major championship title.
