There are golfers who execute shots and golfers who create shots. Tiger Woods is one of the latter. Throughout his nearly 30-year professional career, the Californian has produced a collection that could easily fill an entire wing of the Louvre, including some of the most memorable and celebrated shots in the history of the sport. Here, on his 50th anniversary, we've compiled a selection of 10 shots that best encapsulate what Tiger Woods has been all about, considering not only the quality or spectacular nature of the shot, but also the context in which they were made.
Tiger Woods, history
The chip shot on the 16th at Augusta
Here it comes. Good Lord. Oh wow! You've never seen anything like it. This is how the legendary Verne Lundqvist addressed the CBS audience as the most famous chip shot in history, the one executed by Tiger Woods from the edge of the 16th green at Augusta National during the final round of the 2005 Masters, where he won his fourth green jacket, rolled toward the hole. From the position where his tee shot landed, with the ball positioned between the rough and the left-hand front green, there was no logical way to attack the flagstick. Tiger pondered, meticulously inspected the green, took a few practice swings, and conjured up a shot that was simply inexplicable. Chris DiMarco, with whom he was locked in a head-to-head battle for the title, was one stroke behind and had his ball in the center of the green, with a birdie opportunity. This stroke of genius from Tiger shut the door on any comeback.
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The Putt to Force a Playoff at the 2008 US Open
In a US Open played with a torn ACL and two stress fractures in one foot, Tiger, his face contorted with pain after every swing, reached the final hole needing a birdie to tie for the lead with Rocco Mediate. He left himself a four-meter putt that sank to the right edge of the hole. On Monday, when the playoff was still being played over 18 holes, a battered Tiger again reached the final segment one stroke behind and sank another birdie to tie. On the first sudden-death hole, he made par, while Mediate bogeyed, crowning Tiger, who the next day announced he would miss the rest of the season to undergo knee surgery.
The Players' 17th Putt
On the infamous island green of the 17th at Sawgrass, Tiger produced a Kafkaesque putt during the third round, which traveled over 18 meters and three different slopes, reaching the hole. It has gone down in history as the "Better than Most" putt, a description given by Gary Koch during the NBC broadcast. The following day, Tiger would secure his first victory at the PGA Tour's flagship tournament.
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A Nighttime Dart
At Firestone, one of his favorite courses, where he won eight times, and with night falling over Akron and the flag barely visible, Tiger executed what entered the collective memory as the "Dark Shot": an 8-iron that landed less than half a meter from the 18th hole, sealing his 11-stroke victory at the WGC-NEC Invitational.
The Bunker Shot at Hazeltine
This is literally the shot Tiger once described as the best shot of his career. With a lie that would have left anyone else hoping to find the fairway again, Woods hit a stunning 3-iron and left himself a birdie putt, which, of course, he sank to finish the back nine of the 2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine.
The Fine Art of the Bounce Back
One of the things that made Tiger an unparalleled predator was his ability to recover strokes after losing them, and this chip is the epitome of it. After coming up short on his first attempt, in a situation where he needed par to keep Vijay Singh at baySingh was threatening what would become the first of his five Memorial titlesWoods holed it out from the rough and downhill.
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His First Hole-in-One as a Professional
It took Tiger Woods three and a half rounds to record his first hole-in-one as a professional. A few days after Nike announced him to the world with that "Hello, world," in the final round of the Greater Milwaukee Open, on the par-3 14th hole of the Brown Deer Park Golf Course, Tiger hit a 6-iron straight into the net, which rolled down the middle after a couple of bounces.
An Automaton Under Pressure
Another thing that sets Woods apart is his uncanny ability to generate exactly the shot he needs at the exact moment. On this occasion, during the 2001 World Cup, he needed an eagle for the United States to make the playoff alongside New Zealand, Denmark, and South Africa. Tiger did just that, and his teammate on the American team, David Duval, couldn't help but burst out laughing.
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Phoenix Rave
At the 16th hole of TPC Scottsdale, where golf turns into a rave, Tiger scored his second hole-in-one as a professional during the 1997 Phoenix Open. In this case, as in so many others, a picture is worth a thousand words.
The Redemption Shot
Tiger truly won the 2019 Masters on the 12th hole, when he found a green that neither Brooks Koepka, nor Tony Finau, nor Francesco Molinari, who could have challenged him on the final round, could reach. They all ended up in Rae's Creek, the stream that protects the front of the green, and signed for double bogeys that opened the door for Tiger's comeback, which he sealed with this spectacular shot on the 16th.
