So Tiger Woods made an incredible chip to basically win the Memorial yesterday and Jack Nicklaus (the tournaments host) said it was the best shot he had ever seen. He was referring to the difficulty of the shot, what was on the line and the risks involved.
Now, I respect Nicklaus’ opinion, but I think he is a little off the mark here. I can think of several more clutch shots in Majors, which certainly makes them more important.
#1 has to be Watson’s chip in at 17 of Pebble Beach during the 1982 US Open. He was DEAD, going up against Nicklaus, and he is much more likely to make bogey than Birdie on that hole. But he played a perfect shot out of the tall weeds and ended up winning the tournament.
Tiger’s chip in at 16 at the 2005 Masters a couple of years ago was pretty spectacular and led to a victory.
Of course, who can forget Larry Mize’s chip-in at the 86 Masters, or Constantina Rocca’s putt at the British Open (although he eventually lost). Those are just recent examples, but I certainly think these (maybe not the putt) rank higher than Tiger’s fantastic chip-in.
Davis Love III holed nearly the identical shot a couple of years earlier. Not quite the same circumstances, but the shot is there and really not that difficult to put close because of the backstop. The one yesterday was probably better.
I think Woods shot yesterday rival Watson’s shot at Pebble Beach in difficulty.
Bubba’s approach shot on the playoff hole at Augusta was probably tougher, considering the circumstances and his emotions.
Its funny why evaluating a shot’s difficulty, they usually follow a very poor shot.
Watson tee shot on 17
Bubba’s tee shot on 10
Tiger’s tee shot on Memorial 16 and Augusta 16.
They were all poor shots.
No video tape but I would guess that Sarazens’s double eagle at the Masters was two well struck shots (and he went on to win).
Nicklaus was taking all factors into consideration - the circumstances, the the lie of the ball, the fact that the green sloped away from Tiger, and the elevated position of the ball.
Rocca’s shot was a putt. A clutch putt to be sure, but people hit long putts all the time (and it wasn’t even that long.)
Tiger’s and Mize’s chips at Augusta were perfectly played shots, but both were from clipped lies. Nothing remarkable about either of the two shots other than they were both placed on the right line. Tiger’s was a better shot than Mize’s as he had to get it to check up in the right spot, but every pro golfer can make a ball do that.
Tom Watson’s shot wasn’t really in the tall grass. There was tall grass nearby, but Watson had a good lie, much better than Tiger’s yesterday. It was a straightforward shot and it’s greatness was in it’s perfect line - if it didn’t hit the pin it probably was going to end up ten feet away.
The greatness of Tiger’s shot was that of all his options, he chose the best one and played it perfectly. He could have made a straightforward shot and hope it hit the pin, but if it didn’t he’d have a 12 foot par putt coming back. That’s what happened on the same hole to Sabbatini and Levin with their bunker shots. Tiger knew he had to hit it high and land it soft to get it close to the hole. Opening up the clubface exposes the hosel to the long grass - it can grab the club, resulting in a short chunk, or it can cause the clubface to rotate to the left, which results in a low, hard shot that could end up in the water behind the green. What Tiger did was to open the clubface even more, and swing even harder to get the club through the grass, resulting in the high soft shot he made. It was a perfect shot - even if it didn’t go in, it was a tap in par.
As an Aussie, gutted watching Mize’s shot, it’s hard to figure how it even gets a mention. Halfway to the hole we were all thinking that Norman has won because Mize’s shot was way too hard and heading far past the hole. Far more luck than the other shots mentioned.
The first comment after the youtube link made it worth seeing again though.