Golf has long faced desperate pressure to ‘grow the game’ as the cliche goes. Yet, just one week out from The 2026 Masters, there were calls to ‘shrink’ it. The reason for that drastic change of heart? Jason Kelce.
Masters week is one of the biggest of the golf season. It is a storied chapter of the sport’s history, filled with hallowed traditions. Not normally among those regulated quirks is an NFL legend with a reputation for his boisterous on-air personality.
So, when ESPN announced that the former Philadelphia Eagles star would be gracing the sacred pines of Augusta National as part of their par-three tournament coverage, there was uproar from the golfing faithful.
After all, Kelce is renowned for his antics. He sported a green velour tracksuit and danced in the parking lot of Lincoln Financial Field during his second game as an NFL analyst.
He chugged beers with brother Travis Kelce on the course at the American Century Championship.
And who can forget when he whipped off his shirt and leapt from the window of a luxury suite at Highmark Stadium, beer can in hand?
Jason Kelce attended The Masters par-three contest for ESPN on Wednesday
The former NFL star appeared on the network’s coverage despite backlash from golf fans
Unlike the NFL world, where the behavior can be laughed off, those rowdy scenes hardly belong in the hushed, buttoned-up world of golf.
But the Kelce that took to the par-three course on Wednesday was a world away from the ‘frat bro’ persona. He was reverent of his surroundings, aware that he stood in the cathedral of golf.
The retired football center was every inch the polished TV showman. He was on his best behavior. So much so, that the patrons of Augusta were not even immediately aware that he was there, never mind igniting a riot over his presence.
Even with his towering frame suited in one of Augusta’s pristine white caddie boiler suits, Kelce managed to maintain an inconspicuous air – one that can rarely be associated with him, his family, and, of course, his famous sister-in-law-to-be.
Of course, it did not have a lengthy lifespan. He soon attracted a crowd as patrons risked whiplash for a double glance, the confusion etched on their faces slowly melting away to realization then bafflement.
‘Wait, Jason Kelce is here?’ ‘Was that just Jason Kelce?’ ‘Woah, Jason Kelce.’ The stunned whispers rippled around the course.
Yet, even the huddle was small and tight-knit as a handful of spectators clustered around the NFL icon, still paling in significance to the sea of fans swarming around greens and tee boxes in the hopes of seeing golf’s own legend.
It appeared that for all the uproar – including the vitriolic online calls for ESPN to ‘get rid of him’ before he even touched down in Georgia – many at Augusta had scarcely even received the memo that he was there. And they didn’t begrudge his presence.
Kelce ripped his shirt off at one point during Chiefs-Bills in 2024 and chugged a beer
The Philadelphia Eagles legend fist-bumps a patron as he walks the par-three course
The jovial Kelce radiated charisma in between filming segments. He joked and chatted with the patrons standing between the fifth and sixth holes, quipping that he would be heading to the bar for an Azalea cocktail after spying a gaggle of women clutching Augusta’s signature fuchsia beverage.
The Masters Gnome is one of the most highly-coveted pieces of merchandise from the Augusta shop. The limited-edition 13.5-inch ceramic collectible is the equivalent of golfing gold dust with the artifact proving so desirable that it is sold on the second-hand market for over $500 – ten times the retail price.
And on Wednesday, one particular model became ultra rare when Kelce’s signature transformed it into an extra special edition after it became one of the many items thrust in front of him by his adoring fans. Now, it will be priceless.
The select group of patrons would have been thankful to have caught Kelce on a practice day – one of the rare occasions that Augusta permits cameras – as he even graciously stopped for numerous photos.
‘Oh, we definitely have to get a photo of that,’ Kelce declared when one man barged through the crowd to proudly display the Philadelphia Eagles tattoo inked on his calf.
The admiration for the former football icon was seemingly so profound that a handful of fans couldn’t contain themselves, bursting into Eagles chants. Thankfully, the disruption didn’t put the players on the adjacent tee box off their game.
Nor was Kelce chomping down on a hybrid pimento-cheese, egg-salad sandwich – a creation of his own making – on camera enough to detract most spectators’ attention from the action unfolding on the greens around them.
Kelce was even restrained when he embraced his role on the bag of Akshay Bhatia. He dutifully checked the wind direction and lowered himself flat to the undulating greens to line up putts. He let out an agonized bellow when one sailed past the hole. It was perhaps the closest he strayed to his outlandish actions of the past but even that theatrical reaction was echoed and embraced by the patrons of Augusta.
The retired center hopped on the bag of professional golfer Akshay Bhatia durign the round
The jovial Kelce generously took time to sign autographs from a crowd of fans
Kelce did not detract from or ruin the Masters par-three contest as many had feared. If anything, he fueled it.
The par-three contest is one of The Masters’ most-beloved traditions. The curtain raiser is a heartwarming, light-hearted warmup for the gritty battle that will take place over Augusta’s sloping hills over the coming days. It is the last – and truly, only – chance the players have to relax and enjoy the experience with their families.
Kelce’s infectious enthusiasm and convivial persona were the perfect complement to the charm of the par-three contest. Though, admittedly, if it were the actual tournament days, the appeal may have failed to translate.
For long, ESPN has had to fend off questions over how it is utilizing Kelce across its networks.
For many, it has felt that Kelce has been thrust onto every program, podcast and commercial since signing his three-year contract with ESPN in 2024, with the network seemingly trying to justify his $24million price tag at every turn.
And his Masters duties – adding to his endless resume of NFL gigs – was viewed by many furious golf fans as ESPN’s latest attempt to get more bang for their buck.
His wife, Kylie Kelce, even came under fire at the weekend after she complained about the people hammering her for details about the upcoming blockbuster wedding between her brother-in-law Travis Kelce and his A-list fiancee Taylor Swift.
The former NFL icon even played a shot at the ninth hole of the par-three contest
Kylie Kelce has told people to ‘stop f***ing asking’ her for details about Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s upcoming wedding this summer
There were some observers who thought Kylie’s words veered on being hypocritical given how when it suits her, she’s happy to tell people about her family life, while others believed it was that very high-profile relationship that had afforded her and her husband the spotlight they now bask in.
Her podcast rant fed into the narrative that the Kelce brand was being rammed down the throat of the public, that her husband was at risk of overexposure, or worse, already past the point of no return.
But Kelce’s Augusta appearance proved the opposite. The Kelce appeal hasn’t completely faded – not just yet. Instead, it needs more careful curating, greater creative avenues and considered, appropriate utilization. And that was found at The Masters.
At Augusta, ESPN may have received the answer to its Kelce conundrum.
