So much for Nick Faldo’s pick to win the Masters.

The three-time winner said yesterday that fellow Englishman Luke Donald is in such good form he ought to win this week at Augusta National. Donald then went out and showed off that form by winning the Par 3 Tournament, shooting a 5-under to finish a stroke ahead of former Masters champions Raymond Floyd and Angel Cabrera.

There’s only one problem: No Par 3 Tournament winner has ever gone on to capture the green jacket.

“I said, ‘Oh, poor Luke,’ ” Lee Westwood said.

Donald, however, saw it differently.

“Some short shots that you hit out here are similar to the course, so it’s partly why I play some years. I think that it’s good preparation,” he said. “If you’re hitting wedges close, it’s only a good thing.”