The Masters tournament and everything around it is very sacred to golf fans… so they aren’t crazy about ESPN sending out former football player and current podcaster, Jason Kelce, to the Masters Par 3 Contest.
Ever since Kelce wrapped up his Hall of Fame career with the Philadelphia Eagles, he’s seemingly been everywhere on behalf of the “Worldwide Leader in Sports.” It seems like ESPN paid him a bunch of money to be a part of their football broadcast team… and then realized that his personality could fit in with other sports.
Or so they thought.
The Masters Par 3 Contest always takes place on Wednesday of Masters Week. The fun, family-oriented event always kicks off competition before the serious contest gets going Thursday through Sunday. The players love it. The fans love it. It’s truly one of the greatest traditions inside the “tradition unlike any other.”
ESPN’s coverage of the event started Wednesday afternoon, and almost immediately, they called upon Jason Kelce to set the scene for the Par 3 Contest:
No harm, no foul, right?
That depends on who you ask. For the more casual fans of the Masters, they’re happy to see someone outside of the golf world walking around Augusta and speaking in more layman’s terms. For golfers and die-hard fans of the Masters, Kelce’s presence at the tournament and approach to the Masters has them up in arms:
Serious question, what does Jason Kelce have to do with the masters? https://t.co/Sqq1Gnx8Vr
— Savage (@Savageboston) April 8, 2026
So Tired of this Guy. Stop Ramming him down our Throats.
— Tony Wellington (@TonyWellin66170) April 8, 2026
Stop forcing Jason Kelce on us ESPN https://t.co/Dp1nAc2VND
— Jaden Gaines (@JSG3_) April 8, 2026
This is supposed to be about players spending time with families and loved ones not corny slop
— Cats Ball Talk (@CatsTalk9) April 8, 2026
Jason Kelce was a cool dude before he became super corporate post playing career. Once he retired from football his personality seemed to change to this corporate fake type. If you saw him speak before it seems so obvious. Now ESPN drags him out to events he’s unrelated to and… https://t.co/8ydbezCJrc
— BB (@yankees047) April 8, 2026
ESPN execs when it comes to assigning Jason Kelce to cover non-football events https://t.co/C54ZTYO0GV pic.twitter.com/FFDfInhqyP
— Patrick (@PatLovesSports) April 8, 2026
Augusta National members watching Jason Kelce ruin the sanctity of The Masters pic.twitter.com/P0Mc6UbbWd
— big content guy (@bigcontentguy) April 3, 2026
Can Chairman Ridley please step in? pic.twitter.com/YyTt1pqDb6
— Golf Bet Caddie (@GolfBetCaddie) April 8, 2026
Obviously, this could be more of a “Kelce Fatigue” situation than anything else. But it seems very clear that a whole lot of golf fans are ready for Jason Kelce to pack up his caddie bib and cooler full of sandwiches and high-tail it off the grounds of Augusta National Golf Club.
Much to their chagrin, Jason even hit a shot on No. 9, and actually kept it out of the water hazard:
