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Five-time Masters Tournament champion Tiger Woods is not competing this year because he ruptured his Achilles' tendon last month and needed surgery. While golf fans will miss seeing the World Golf Hall of Famer and 15-time major winner play at Augusta National Golf Club, we can still celebrate the 20th anniversary of Tiger's greatest shot at the Masters, the miraculous chip-in from behind the 16th green in the 2005 Masters.
Verne Lundquist, who was on the call for Jack Nicklaus’ memorable birdie putt on the 17th hole during the 1986 Masters ("Yes Sir!") teamed with Lanny Wadkins to describe the action and the moment as Tiger battled Chris DiMarco and tried to win his fourth green jacket.
"Verne, this is extremely difficult," Wadkins said as the CBS camera pulled back from where Tiger's Nike golf ball rested close to the collar and Woods walked toward the top of a slope near the back of the green. "This is one of the toughest pitches in the entire place here. You can see him looking up the slope."
After saying there was a good chance that Tiger would not be able to get his shot to come down the slope and stop closer to the hole than DiMarco's ball, which was about 6 feet from the hole, Woods hit his chip shot.
Fourteen seconds later, after the ball landed on the green, skidded three times, and then rolled down the slope-- "Oh my goodness!" Lundquist said in disbelief -- it hung on the lip of the hole, flashed the Nike swoosh and then dropped into the cup.
"Oh wow," Lundquist exploded as the patrons roared. "In your life have you ever seen anything like that!"
It turns out Woods needed the chip to drop because he and DiMarco finished tied at 12 under, forcing a playoff for the green jacket. Woods holed a 15-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole (the 18th) to win his fourth Masters.
Afterward, when he was asked where the shot on 16 ranked among the best shots he had ever hit, Tiger answered, "Well, I think under the circumstances, it's one of the best I've ever hit because it looks like ... only because of the turning point. I mean, if Chris makes his putt, I make bogey, then all of a sudden it's a different ballgame. All of a sudden, I'm one back. So I figured I need to get this thing at least up-and-down, give myself a chance to make a par. I remember Davis (Love) chipping in from back over there, so I just tried to, not necessarily try to chip it in, I wasn't thinking about that, I was just trying to throw the ball up there on the hill and let it feed down there and hopefully have a makeable putt."
Woods followed up by adding, "All of a sudden, it looked pretty good, and all of a sudden it looked like really good. And it looked like how could it not go in, and how did it not go in, and all of a sudden, it went in, so it was pretty sweet."
Follow AugustaChronicle.com all week for full coverage of from the USA TODAY Network at the Masters and Augusta National Golf Club.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Tiger Woods' greatest Masters shot, chip-in 16th hole 20th anniversary
Continue reading...
Verne Lundquist, who was on the call for Jack Nicklaus’ memorable birdie putt on the 17th hole during the 1986 Masters ("Yes Sir!") teamed with Lanny Wadkins to describe the action and the moment as Tiger battled Chris DiMarco and tried to win his fourth green jacket.
"Verne, this is extremely difficult," Wadkins said as the CBS camera pulled back from where Tiger's Nike golf ball rested close to the collar and Woods walked toward the top of a slope near the back of the green. "This is one of the toughest pitches in the entire place here. You can see him looking up the slope."
After saying there was a good chance that Tiger would not be able to get his shot to come down the slope and stop closer to the hole than DiMarco's ball, which was about 6 feet from the hole, Woods hit his chip shot.
Fourteen seconds later, after the ball landed on the green, skidded three times, and then rolled down the slope-- "Oh my goodness!" Lundquist said in disbelief -- it hung on the lip of the hole, flashed the Nike swoosh and then dropped into the cup.
"Oh wow," Lundquist exploded as the patrons roared. "In your life have you ever seen anything like that!"
It turns out Woods needed the chip to drop because he and DiMarco finished tied at 12 under, forcing a playoff for the green jacket. Woods holed a 15-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole (the 18th) to win his fourth Masters.
Afterward, when he was asked where the shot on 16 ranked among the best shots he had ever hit, Tiger answered, "Well, I think under the circumstances, it's one of the best I've ever hit because it looks like ... only because of the turning point. I mean, if Chris makes his putt, I make bogey, then all of a sudden it's a different ballgame. All of a sudden, I'm one back. So I figured I need to get this thing at least up-and-down, give myself a chance to make a par. I remember Davis (Love) chipping in from back over there, so I just tried to, not necessarily try to chip it in, I wasn't thinking about that, I was just trying to throw the ball up there on the hill and let it feed down there and hopefully have a makeable putt."
Woods followed up by adding, "All of a sudden, it looked pretty good, and all of a sudden it looked like really good. And it looked like how could it not go in, and how did it not go in, and all of a sudden, it went in, so it was pretty sweet."
Follow AugustaChronicle.com all week for full coverage of from the USA TODAY Network at the Masters and Augusta National Golf Club.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Tiger Woods' greatest Masters shot, chip-in 16th hole 20th anniversary
Continue reading...
