Once we finally make it through the post-Super Bowl depression in February and the beginning of March, we get to enjoy the fruits of spring. March Madness, the start of the baseball season, and tomorrow, the first round of the Masters. Today we will watch all the little children dressed up as caddies, and all the professionals jump around like kids when one of them sinks a hole-in-one in the Par 3 Challenge. Then tomorrow the real fun begins. Our favorites will don outfits filled with plaid, colorful stripes, and whatever Rickie Fowler decides to wear, all with the most beautiful luscious backdrop in the country…Augusta National.
The Masters has a romantic sense unlike other tournaments; one that anyone who has ever sliced a tee shot or missed a three foot putt cannot resist. Maybe it is because it is the first tournament we have watched since before football season, or maybe we just love the scenery of east Georgia in the spring time. Whatever it is, the Masters has become the tournament that all other tournaments are measured against. Just like week 1 of the football season, the first weekend of deer season, and MLB Opening Day, this day is marked on our calendars so that we don’t schedule something that would interrupt our weekend of bliss watching golf.
To kick off one of my favorite weekends of the year, I have compiled a list of my favorite Masters moments. We’ve all read the lists of the best Masters moments of all time with Sandy Lyle and Jack Nicklaus, but these are MY favorite moments that I have watched personally over the past 20 years.
2004 – Padraig Harrington and Kirk Tripplett make back to back aces
I’ve always dreamed of making a hole-in-one. I’ve been a witness to one, and have hit the pin a few times, but I’ve never actually dropped one in the cup. It is exciting to see one, even if it is on TV, but to see two in a matter of minutes was unbelievable. Neither of these guys were really in contention, even though both finished in the top 15. By the time they reached the 16th hole the cameras were really focused on Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, and K.J. Choi who would finish 1, 2, and 3. Harrington and Tripplett though added extra excitement to what would become a great Masters Sunday.
2013 – Adam Scott’s putt
Say what you will about the long putters and whether they should be in the game or not. When I think of long putters I always think of spending a couple of hours playing with them at Golfsmith every time I go, and Adam Scott’s putt on #18 in 2013. Scott sank a 25 foot birdie putt to become the leader in the clubhouse Sunday afternoon, only to eventually be tied by Angel Cabrera. Scott won out in the end and took his first green jacket, but it was the putt and the high five with Steve Williams that we all remember from this week.
1997 – Tiger’s historic weekend
Normally when someone is winning a golf tournament by 12 shots I’ve stopped watching after Saturday. Back in ’97 though it was a little different because it was the dawn of a new era in the game. A 21 year old kid came in and set the tournament record leaving even his fellow competitors in awe. Other players were so amazed by his distance off the tee and his ability to make shots, that some of them were noting that they wouldn’t be surprised if he won the next 20 Masters if he kept playing like that. That weekend was revolutionary in the way it changed the game as far as race relations and building a new prototype of golfer that would result in tees being moved back as time went on. It was one of the most historic weekends in the history of the game, shaping it into what it is today.
2001 – The Tiger Slam
No one would have been that surprised if Tiger had won the Grand Slam at some point in his career. He was so dominant in his prime that he was favored to win almost every time he teed it up. Although he didn’t win the Grand Slam, the Tiger Slam might even be better. He was the champion of all four majors at the same time, the only player to ever do that, and it came with a sweet nickname. The “Tiger Slam” was yet another example of his dominance at a time when most bets were Tiger vs. the field. There are some great young golfers in the game right now, but I don’t think anyone will ever be as dominant as Tiger was this year.
2012 – Louis Oosthuizen’s double eagle on #2
I hit a 4-iron about 210 yards on a good day, Oosthuizen hit his 4-iron over 250 yards that day finishing in the bottom of the cup on the #2 green. It was unbelievably exciting to watch, and I wasn’t even burned out on it when they showed the replay every 10 minutes the rest of the day. Had he not holed this shot out, we wouldn’t have gotten to see a two hole playoff where Bubba Watson eventually beat Oosthuizen to take the green jacket. He wasn’t the winner in the end, but he had the shot of the day. Or did he?
2012 – Bubba’s hook
After finishing 72 holes tied with Oosthuizen, he and Bubba Watson went to sudden death. On the second extra hole Watson pulled his tee shot off into the trees to the right of the #10 fairway. Rather than punching out and trying to get up and down for par, he hit a ball with his back almost facing the flagstick. The ball took a hard right and dropped within 15 feet of the hole. He wound up two putting and making par anyway, but it would prove to be a winner when Oosthuizen bogeyed. It gave golfers everywhere the confidence to try to hit a ball out of the trees and put a 90 degree turn on it. I’ve tried that shot before…it hit a house.
2004 – Phil’s leap for the win
I think that Phil Mickelson is an easy guy to root for, and in the early 2000’s all anyone could talk about was his lack of major championships. After a while you felt for the guy because it felt like he would never get over that hump and finish higher than runner-up (of course we still kind of feel that way when it comes to him and the U.S. Open). Then came an 18 foot putt on #18 that would finally shut up all of the critics. Personally, I thought he was going to miss it and that it would be just another chapter in the Phil book of major failures. Then I got to see the pure joy and elation on his face when that putt went in and he knew that he had won. It was one of the most exciting moments in history, and wound up being a great magazine cover. Phil has won a lot since then, but to me this will always be his best.
2011 Sunday back nine
This isn’t one particular moment, it is an entire afternoon of what I think was the best show of golf that I have ever watched. Rory McIlroy started the day with a four shot lead, then tripled #10, doubled #11, and wound up shooting 80. It was one of the hardest collapses to watch, especially since Rory is such a likable player. The rest of the field put on quite a show however. Starting the day seven shots back, Tiger went out in 31 and was all of a sudden right in the mix. Unfortunately he missed a couple of short putts that took him out of the running. That afternoon eight different players owned at least a share of the lead on the back nine with roars seemingly coming from every angle and every hole. In the end Charl Schwartzl birdied the last four holes (something that has never been done) and earned his first green jacket. It was the most thrilling few hours of golf I’ve ever watched, one that I don’t think could be duplicated.
2005 – Tiger’s chip
We have all seen the highlight, the chip, the slow roll, the pause, the fist-pump. It was a live Nike commercial right in front of our eyes, and it was AWESOME! That afternoon it was only a piece of a great duel between Tiger and Chris DiMarco that ended in yet another sudden death playoff (it seems like all these moments end in a playoff). That single chip has become one of the most iconic moments in the sport, and it came on its biggest stage. As far as live sports moments that I’ve ever watched, it ranks up there with Kirk Gibson’s home run, Joe Carter’s home run, and the Music City Miracle. I believe it is the best Masters moment of all time, and I can only hope that something even more exciting will come along some day.
I’m sure that there are plenty of other moments that have happened at Augusta National that I have missed, these are just my favorites that I have witnessed. I look forward to great moments to come, hopefully something this week could be added to this list as well.
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