Jordan Spieth's 3-year-old son and 89-year-old Gary Player make memories at Masters Par 3 Contest

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Sammy Spieth, age 3, hit a better tee shot by his standards than playing partners Justin Thomas and Max Homa did by theirs on the second hole of the Par 3 Contest at the Masters. He teed up a driver, gripped it cross-handed and sent his ball about 30 yards down the middle, while Thomas and Homa hit their wedges short and right into a bunker.

Sammy's dad, 2015 Masters champion Jordan Spieth, didn't bother to tee off. He had enough to manage with a team of caddies — all wearing white Augusta National coveralls — that included Sammy, 1-year-old daughter Sophie and wife Annie, who is expecting a third child in July.

The record book will show that Masters rookie Nico Echavarria won the Par 3 on Wednesday, beating J.J. Spaun with a birdie on the second playoff hole after each shot 5-under 22. While the Masters is arguably the easiest major to win because of its small field that includes aging past champions, the Par 3 is much easier, because most players don't even try.

Gary Player certainly does. The oldest living Masters champion at age 89, he made three straight birdies — flirting with aces on Nos. 6 and 7 — to get his name onto the leaderboard, although he ultimately didn't post an official score.

The same was true of 70 players in the field of 90. That trend likely will continue as long as the winner on Augusta National's tranquil, 1,090-yard par-3 course fails to win the green jacket. The contest began in 1960 and no one has won it and the Masters in the same year.

“I’ve never really been, like, buy into the jinx too much, but I also don’t think I’ve ever turned in a card,” Thomas said.

Rory McIlroy was joined by wife Erica and 4-year-old daughter Poppy, who holed a birdie putt on the ninth hole when she nudged the ball with her dad's putter and it nearly stopped before it caught a slope and ran into the hole.

McIlroy, who would complete the career Grand Slam with a victory on Sunday, appreciated the chance to focus on his daughter, who interrupted his on-course interview with ESPN.

“The buildup to this event is a lot, and the sort of anticipation and we’re waiting eight or nine months for the next major to roll around from the Open Championship,” McIlroy said. “To end your preparation with an afternoon like this ... it's such a fun afternoon.”

Keegan Bradley made the first ace of the day when his approach on the 140-yard sixth hole caught a ridge and trickled into the cup. He hoisted each of his sons in the air, and when the family got to the green, Bradley's younger boy, 4-year-old Cooper, ran to the hole, looked down and clapped his hands together at the sight of the ball. He lifted it out and raised his arm in triumph.

Earlier, when the Bradley family made its way down the first hole, 7-year-old Logan showed an impressive grasp of Masters patron etiquette when he yelled at his younger brother, “You can't run!”

Byeong Hun An's 5-year-old son, Sun-woo, got a cheer worthy of an ace when he bombed a drive about halfway to the green on the 130-yard first hole. Sun-woo then took out an iron and after a couple of whiffs — er, practice swings — he hit a worm-burner that scooted into a greenside bunker.

Scottie Scheffler holed a 3-footer for birdie on the first hole, a feat more impressive because he did it one-handed while holding his 11-month-old son, Bennett.

Tom Hoge gave been-there, done-that high-fives to the players and caddies in his group when he aced the 90-yard fourth with a shot that spun back and slammed into the flagstick. Brooks Koepka used the slope behind the hole on the sixth for the last hole-in-one of the day and 115th in the contest's history.

Participation in the Par 3 is optional, and a handful of players — including Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay and Phil Mickelson — opted out, choosing to grind on the range or play practice rounds well into the afternoon ahead of Thursday's opening round.

“If you’re not ready by now, then you don’t really have a chance. This week takes a lot of energy,” McIlroy said. “It’s a tough walk, it’s hilly, and the mental energy you’re expending as well. Get this done, and then just go home, have dinner, relax and get ready for tomorrow.”

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Gary Player gestures on the second hole during the par-3 contest at the Masters golf tournament, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Scottie Scheffler holds his son Bennett as wife Meredith laughs during the par-3 contest at the Masters golf tournament, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Byeong Hun An's, of South Korea, wife, Melissa, helps her son Sun-woo, 5, out of the bunker on the first hole as she holds daughter Ji-Woo, 2, during the par-3 contest at the Masters golf tournament, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Byeong Hun An's, of South Korea, son Sun-woo, 5, hits out of the bunker on the first hole during the par-3 contest at the Masters golf tournament, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Jordan Spieth and wife Annie Verret interact with daughter Sophie as they wait to play on the first hole during a practice around at the Masters golf tournament, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Jordan Spieth interacts with son Sammy during the par-3 contest at the Masters golf tournament, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, looks at his daughter, Poppy, on the first hole during the par-3 contest at the Masters golf tournament, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Jordan Spieth's son Sammy watches his shot on the seventh hole during the par-3 contest at the Masters golf tournament, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Scottie Scheffler holds his child Bennett as Sam Burns removes his ball on the first hole during the par-3 contest at the Masters golf tournament, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Byeong Hun An, of South Korea, watches his son Sun-woo, 5, hit on the first hole during the par-3 contest at the Masters golf tournament, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Keegan Bradley celebrates with sons Cooper, 4, and Logan, 7, left, on the seventh hole during the par-3 contest at the Masters golf tournament, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Jordan Spieth's son Sammy swings a club during the par-3 contest at the Masters golf tournament, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. and global economies will likely slow significantly in the wake of President Donald Trump's tariffs and the uncertainty they have created, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday.

The IMF said that the global economy will grow just 2.8% this year, down from its forecast in January of 3.3%, according to its latest World Economic Outlook. And in 2026, global growth will be 3%, the fund predicts, also below its previous 3.3% estimate.

And the Fund sees the world's two largest economies, China and the United States, weakening: U.S. economic growth will come in at just 1.8% this year, down sharply from its previous forecast of 2.7% and a full percentage point below its 2024 expansion. The IMF doesn't expect a U.S. recession, though it has raised its odds of one this year from 25% to about 40%.

China is now projected to expand 4% this year and next, down roughly half a point from its previous forecasts.

“We are entering a new era,” Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, chief economist at the IMF, said. “This global economic system that has operated for the last eighty years is being reset.”

The forecasts underscore the widespread impact of both the tariffs and the uncertainty they have created. Every country in the world is affected, the IMF said, by hikes in US import taxes that have now lifted average U.S. duties to about 25%, the highest in a century.

The forecasts are largely in line with many private-sector economists' expectations, though some do fear a recession is increasingly likely. Economists at JPMorgan say the chances of a U.S. recession are now 60%. The Federal Reserve has also forecast that growth will weaken this year, to 1.7%.

The IMF is a 191-nation lending organization that works to promote economic growth and financial stability and to reduce global poverty.

Gourinchas said that the heightened uncertainty around the import taxes led the IMF to take the unusual step of preparing several different scenarios for future growth. Its forecasts were finalized April 4, after the Trump administration announced sweeping tariffs on nearly 60 countries along with nearly-universal 10% duties.

Those duties were paused April 9 for 90 days. Gourinchas said the pause didn’t substantially change the IMF’s forecasts because the U.S. and China have imposed such steep tariffs on each other since then.

The Trump administration has slapped duties on cars, steel, and aluminum, as well as 25% import taxes on most goods from Canada and Mexico. The White House has also imposed 10% tariffs on nearly all imports, and a huge 145% duty on goods from China, though smartphone and computers have been exempted. China has retaliated with 125% duties on US goods.

The uncertainty surrounding the Trump administration’s next moves will also likely weigh heavily on the U.S. and global economies, the IMF said. Most traded goods are parts that feed into finished products, and the tariffs could disrupt supply chains, similar to what occurred during the pandemic, Gourinchas warned in a blog post.

“Companies facing uncertain market access will likely pause in the near term, reduce investment and cut spending,” he wrote.

The U.S. tariffs are also expected to hit less-developed nations, with Mexico's economy now expected to shrink this year by 0.3%, down from a previous projection of 1.4% growth. South Africa is forecast to grow just 1% this year, down from a 1.5% projection in January.

While the U.S. economy will likely suffer a supply shock, Gourinchas said, China is expected to experience reduced demand as U.S. purchases of its exports fall.

Inflation will likely worsen in the United States, rising to about 3% by the end of this year, while it will be little changed in China, the IMF forecast.

In his blog post, Gourinchas acknowleged that there is an “acute perception that globalization unfairly displaced many domestic manufacturing jobs” and added that “there is some merit to these grievances.”

But he added that the “deeper force behind this decline is technological progress and automation, not globalization.” Gourinchas noted that both Germany, which has a goods trade surplus, and the U.S., which has a deficit, have seen factory output remain relatively level in recent decades even as automation has caused manufacturing employment to decline.

The IMF expects the tariffs to take a big chunk out of China's economy, but it also forecasts that additional spending by the Chinese government will offset much of the hit.

The European Union is forecast to grow more slowly, but the hit from tariffs is not as large, in part because it is facing lower U.S. duties than China. In addition, some of the hit from tariffs will be offset by stronger government spending by Germany.

The economies of the 27 countries that use the euro are forecast to expand 0.8% this year and 1.2% next year, down just 0.2% in both years from the IMF’s January forecast.

Japan’s growth forecast has been marked down to 0.6% this year and next, 0.5% and 0.2% lower than in January, respectively.

In a separate report Tuesday, the IMF warned that “global financial stability risks have increased significantly,’’ along with the deteriorating economic outlook. The fund noted that some stock and bond prices remained high despite the recent market rout triggered by Trump’s tariffs – which means they are vulnerable to further drops.

The IMF also cautioned that “some financial institutions could come under strain in volatile markets,’’ pointing in particular to heavily indebted hedge funds and asset management companies and the risk that they will be forced to raise cash by selling investments into an already-fragile market.

AP Economics Writer Paul Wiseman contributed to this report.

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