Masters Par 3 Tournament 2018: Date, Tee Times, Live-Stream Info and Preview

The 2018 Masters has the potential to be one of the best ever at Augusta.

Tiger Woods is back in the frame after a remarkable recent comeback, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy have shown decent form in the run-up, and defending champion Sergio Garcia will be eager to claim another green jacket after his momentous play-off win against Justin Rose in 2017.

Before the opening major of the year gets under way on Thursday in Georgia, the annual Par 3 Contest will take place.

A light-hearted and relaxed event that serves as an enjoyable aperitif to the main event, the Wednesday tournament still holds a certain hoodoo for the players, as no one has ever won the Par 3 Contest and the green jacket in the same year.

As ever, 2018's event is set to be a family affair in which wives, girlfriends and children will take over caddying and, sometimes, playing duties.

Here are all the details:

Date: Wednesday, April 4

Time: noon ET / 5 p.m. BST

TV: ESPN (U.S.), Sky Sports Golf (UK)

Live Stream: From 3 p.m. ET on Masters.com and WatchESPN (U.S.), from 7 p.m. BST on Sky Go (UK)

The knockabout and relaxed nature of the Par 3 Contest belies the competitiveness of the four days of major action ahead of it.

It is an event that offers players and their families, and the fans in attendance, the chance to enjoy Augusta without the huge stakes of the green jacket on the line.

In part due to the apparent curse on the Par 3 Contest, the players in the field are not necessarily going all-out to win it.

However, there may well be a number of golf's stars eager to show they can break the run of par-three champions who have failed to win the Masters.

Last year's Par 3 Contest was cancelled due to rain, the first time since its inception in 1960 that it has not taken place. 

Its return will be welcomed in 2018, and it is sure to be an entertaining precursor to one of the most hotly anticipated Masters in years.

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

Woods' return to Augusta for the first time since 2015 is sure to create a huge amount of buzz, and his recent run of fine results set up the possibility of the 14-time major winner being in contention come Sunday.

The fourth and last of Woods' Masters wins came way back in 2005, but since then he has finished in the top 10 in seven of his nine appearances.

Augusta is a place the 42-year-old knows he can compete and win, and if Woods puts himself near the top of the leaderboard over the weekend, it will be fascinating to see how the rest of the field reacts.