Once proceedings get underway Thursday it is the players who are the stars of the show but on Wednesday of Masters week it’s not uncommon for celebrities with higher profiles than the golfers to stroll the fairways at Augusta National.

This year saw the pre-tournament event cancelled for the first time in its 57 year history with stormy weather forcing officials to eventually evacuate the ground for player and patron safety at 1:25pm for the rest of the day.

The contest has provided players with the opportunity to walk the course with their nearest and dearest in the past.

Started in 1960, Wednesday’s Par-3 contest has grown in stature in the past decade with the club taking the decision to begin televising the light hearted competition in 2008.

While already common for some of America’s favourite sportspeople and entertainers to don the white overalls and caddie for the world’s best golfers in the par-3, the introduction of the cameras has turned the nine hole exhibition into a who’s who of fame.

The list of celebrities to have been spotted at what has become Augusta’s Wednesday golf festival is long and includes actors, singers and stars from other sports.

In 2016 the world’s number one ranked female golfer, Lydia Ko, caddied for Kevin Na in the competition and was urged by the PGA Tour winner to take a swing on the ninth.

With the intrigued crowds looking on, Ko almost dunked a 9-iron from 120 metres, a shot that clearly impressed her boss for the day.

“It was better than my shot,” Na said later. “Really impressive.”

In recent years World Number Two Rory McIlroy has grabbed plenty of headlines both for his play and his Wednesday caddies.

In 2013 and 2014 his then girlfriend/fiancé Caroline Wozniacki was not only a world top 10 ranked tennis player but also toted the bag at Augusta’s short course the day before the tournament proper.

After the pair’s highly publicised split, McIlroy enlisted the services of an even bigger star in 2015, One Direction lead singer Niall Horan.

Like many of the caddies, Horan grabbed the opportunity to tee up a ball at the ninth hole at McIlroy’s urging but found the water left of the green.

While actors and singers aren’t uncommon in the Wednesday caddie ranks it is tennis that seems to supply many of the high profile loopers.

2004 Australian Open winner Andy Roddick had never met Zach Johnson before the 2011 Masters but somehow convinced the 2007 champion to let him tag along for the Par-3 that year.

An avid golfer away from the court, Roddick didn’t shy away from the chance to tee one up at the ninth though, like Horan four years later, dunked a nervous snap hook into the water left of the green.

In 2009 18 time Grand Slam title winner Chris Evert made an appearance at Augusta carrying the bag of then husband Greg Norman.

Norman was in the field at the age of 54 courtesy of his close call at The Open the previous year and he and Evert, seemingly inseparable at the time, made quite a splash.

The Shark even managed an ace that day, at the sixth, but his week ended early with rounds of 70-77 to miss the cut.

Other superstars to have been part of the Wednesday tradition include the late lead singer of rock band The Eagles, Glenn Frey, and Tiger Wood’s former girlfriend and downhill skiing great Lindsey Vonn.

But for all the big name celebrities and sports stars on hand it is usually the children of the players who steal the show Wednesday at Augusta.

From toddlers to teenagers, the Wednesday Par-3 has become a place for those playing the tournament to share a unique experience with their kids.