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Sabbatini faces up to Par-Three curse

Australian golfer Stuart Appleby’s daughter plays with sand from the sand trap off the eighth green during the Par-3 Contest at the 2008 Masters at Augusta National in Augusta, Georgia, on Wednesday. PHOTO: EPA

South African Rory Sabbatini will become the latest player to challenge the US Masters Par-Three curse after winning the fun-filled tune-up event on Wednesday.

Lots of laughs and a few holes-in-one were the order of the day on a sun-kissed afternoon as golfers let off steam before the intense pressure awaiting them yesterday when the first round of the tournament proper began.

The Par-Three competition has not been a serious affair for years, with players more interested in entertaining the huge galleries by skipping shots across the ponds than winning and having to deal with the jinx.

Since it was first held in 1960 no winner has gone on to clinch the Masters the same year, but Sabbatini remained confident about his chances after finishing as joint runner-up at Augusta 12 months ago.

“I wanted to win,” Sabbatini told reporters. “You can’t break the curse unless you’ve won the par-three to begin with.”

The South African posted a five-under-par score of 22, one shot better than Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez and American Woody Austin.

Televised live for the first time, the just-for-fun tournament before the real thing provided another side to a place known for its stoic traditions and zealous resistance to change. There’s plenty of fudging on the rulebook, which is why it was OK to let your kid or caddie — sometimes, they were one in the same — take a putt or two or three.

Ian Poulter’s three-year-old son, Luke, isn’t as tall as the clubs his dad uses, but that didn’t stop him from lining up a birdie putt on No. 9.

Decked out in downsized white coveralls, just like the ones worn by the regular caddies, he broke out the mini-putter he lugged around the course just for this moment.

The first attempt went rocketing past the cup. Luke scurried after it and took another whack. Strike two.

Finally, with some help from his father, he tapped in for a three-putt bogey.
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