Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods opted to not take part in the pre-Masters par-three contest at Augusta National, which takes place 24 hours before Thursday's opening round.
The par-three event has been a tradition at Augusta National since being first introduced in 1960, when it was won by Woods' fellow 82-time PGA Tour winner Sam Snead. It has been held every year since, and allows those in action to enjoy a relaxed nine holes before getting down business a day later.
This time around though the pre-tournament event will go ahead without to of the biggest names in the field in McIlroy and Woods, who decided not to add their names to the Wednesday tee sheet.
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Woods' absence will no doubt be down to his fitness concerns, with the American in a constant battle with a leg and ankle injury that has reduced his PGA Tour playing career to a part-time one in recent years. The five-time Masters champion was forced to withdraw from last year's event ahead of the third round, but will no doubt be hoping he can last the week this time around.
Providing an update on his condition, he revealed on Tuesday: "The ankle doesn't hurt anymore. It's fused. It's not going anywhere. So that's fine. It's other parts of my body that now have to take the brunt of it. Once he put the rods in there, it's good to go. But, the back, the knee, other parts of the body have to take the load of it.
"Things just flare up. Some days I just feel really good, and other days, not so much.” McIlroy meanwhile will no doubt be concentrating on the task that hand later this week, as the Northern Irishman looks to win his first green jacket, and finally complete the career Grand Slam after a 10-year wait.
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Pressure often mounts on McIlroy's shoulders come Masters week amid his failure to get over the line at Augusta so far in his career. Woods however believes it is a matter of when not if the four-time major winner gets his hands on a green jacket. "No question, he'll do it at some point," Woods said.
"Rory's too talented, too good. He's going to be playing this event for a very long time. He'll get it done. It's just a matter of when. But, yes, I think that Rory will be a great Masters champion one day, and it could be this week. You never know. I just think that just, again, the talent that he has, the way he plays the game and the golf course fits his eye, it's just a matter of time.”
In the absence of the PGA Tour's two biggest names on Wednesday, a number of LIV Golf stars have opted to tee it up in the par-three event. Past champions Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson Charl Schwartzel will all compete, as will Adrian Meronk, Tyrrell Hatton and Bryson DeChambeau.
Those competing on Wednesday will hope to bring to an end the long-standing curse that has overshadowed the par-three contest. In its 64-year existence, no player has won the par-three showdown and Wednesday before going on to add the green jacket four days later.
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