top 10 Masters moments of all time
Gary Player was 42 years old, and started the day 7-shots back from the leader. Player birdied 7 of his final 10 holes shooting a 30 on the back 9 to win his third and final green jacket and his ninth major title. Player holed 7 putts ranging from 10-30 feet with a final 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole. His final round 64 was enough to overcome the 54-hole leader who shot an even par 72.
Some described Lara Mize as the forgotten competitor as he entered a playoff against Greg Norman and Seve Ballesteros, two of the most legendary names in the game of golf.
However, right off the bat Seve was eliminated on the first playoff hole leaving just Mize and Norman to battle. On the next hole, Lara missed the green by a wide margin with Norman in much better position - making it appear as though Norman was in prime position to win (as expected at this point). Instead, Lara had other ideas in mind - he drained his chip for birdie and in doing so cratered Norman’s most likely chance to win The Masters. Greg finished out his career never winning a green jacket.
The legend of Arnold Palmer includes a birdie, birdie finish in the 1960 Masters tournament sneaking the title from the grasps of the leader Ken Venturi.
In what was one of the first televised Masters tournaments, Palmer’s win helped to contribute to his everlasting fame and to become the ‘darling’ of the golfing world.
Phil made it 2004 with 12 top-5 finishes in majors, but had not captured a single title. The golfing world awaited for Phil to close out a major with a win, as his polished golfing career was missing that major moment.
Finally, it happened as Phil shot a 31 on the back 9 of the 2004 Masters. Phil sealed his victory with a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole that lifted him to win The Masters by just one shot. Mickelson jumped for joy as the putt was drained, but his feet barely made it off ground.
Well, early on Sunday Louis Oosthuizen got the crowd going with a rare albatross on the second hole. The shot would help Louis fight his way into a playoff against Bubba Watson.
On the second playoff hole, Bubba hit an errant tee shot into the trees leaving him a nearly impossible chance to save par. Bubba achieved the improbable hooking a 163-yard shot around several trees and a t.v. tower to land the ball within 15 feet of the hole. Oosthuizen hit a poor second shot, and Bubba was able to seal victory with a 2-putt in exchange for the green jacket.
Many golf fans witnessed their first Masters in color on television in 1975, and boy did they get a good one. Jack Nicklaus produced one of the most iconic moments of his illustrious career draining a 40 footer on the 16th hole on the final day at The Masters. Jack did so with his challengers Johnny Miller and Tom Weiskopf watching from the tee box of the same hole. Jack went on to win his 5th Masters.
In 2005 on the 16th hole, Tiger left himself a tough chip from above the hole and sloping away from him. Many believed he’d have a tough time even getting up and down for par. However, as Tiger chipped, and as the ball trickled slowly towards the hole, the impossible appeared to become more likely.
The ball reached the hole with a final pause on Nike’s iconic logo, and fell to the bottom of the cup. A euphoric golf moment, followed by one of golf’s worst ever high five’s became one of golf’s most replayed moments of all time.
Tiger went on to bogey the 17th and 18th holes to fall into a playoff with Chris DiMarco. Tiger birdied the first hole of the playoff and went on to win his fourth (and most recent) green jacket.
The 1996 Masters produced both a worthy champion and an epic collapse in the same tournament. Greg Norman was the leader entering the day, but shot a final round 78. With a lip-out on the 11th hole, and a miss on the come-backer - Norman unraveled as he hit into the water on the 12th.
Nick Faldo entered the day with a 6-shot deficit and shot a final round 67 to make-up ground and win the tournament. Greg Norman finished with a woeful 78, and his bright career would be remembered by his inability to close.
Commonly described as one of the greatest tournaments in golf history, Jack Nicklaus came from behind and edged out Seve Ballesteros, Greg Norman and Nick Price to win The Masters.
Jack shot a 30 on the final nine (six birdies and an eagle on his last 10 holes) to help him capture his first major title in six years. While many pundits considered his career finished prior to this tournament, Jack’s victory put one final exclamation point on the greatest golf career ever. Jack changed the golf world’s perception of how long a player could remain competitive in professional golf.
Tiger Woods played in his first Masters tournament in 1995 and the golfing world would never be the same. He turned in the most dominating performance in the history of The Masters winning by a 12 stroke margin with a final tally of 370. Tiger became the youngest Masters champion ever at the age 21 years old.
This is it, golf fans. The PGA Tour season concludes at famed East Lake in Atlanta this Sunday. I know these picks are going out late, but I swear I haven’t looked at the leaderboard today. With $15MM on the line, golf’s ultimate cash payday awaits the golfer who can make up multiple strokes on the FedEx Cup leader, Justin Thomas. It will be interesting to see how the scores stack up coming down the stretch with the staggered…
The PGA Tour playoffs revs up the engines this week at the penultimate event, the BMW Championship. The 70 players left in the race are trying to crack the top 30 and earn a berth into the Tour Championship next week to decide the FedEx Cup. Hosted at famed Medinah, the BMW is sure to produce a lot of birdies and excitement coming down the stretch. This is the first time the course has hosted a non major…
Playoffs are here, ladies and gentlemen. The FedEx Cup is a mere three weeks away from dishing out $10MM to some lucky soul. First in the rotation is The Northern Trust at Liberty National just across the river from the Big Apple. With all the glamour and excitement the city has to offer, who can pull ahead and crack the top 70 on the march towards East Lake? …
What would you do for $10MM? That’s what a lot of pros are asking themselves this week. The Wyndham Championship is the last event of the PGA Tour regular season and the leader in the season long points race after this week will receive a $10MM bonus. Wait...I thought that was the FedEx Cup? …
The Gregatron had a net-0 last week. (both picks finished t-11). I need some more unpredictability in my life, or need to improve my golf research skills. Either way, the regular season is back for a couple weeks before the playoffs at the FedEx Dt. Jude Invitational in Memphis. Two events combined this year to form the final WGC of the season. Ironically, there are two defending champs (whaaaa?). TPC Southwind is one of the hardest…
Another new tournament is in the rotation this week at the 3M Open in Blaine, Minnesota. With only a couple more reps before the British Open, the PGA Tour players are grinding for the last spots into the year’s final major. Wait...it’s already almost the end of the major season? Crazy to think how fast the weeks are flying by but hopefully a little hometown flavor can slow us all down at TPC Twin Cities…
The Motor City is getting its Motown grooooooooovveeee back this week with a new PGA Tour event, the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Replacing Tiger’s tournament in the schedule, this week will showcase a new course. The Detroit Golf Club hosted the 1992 Mid-Amateur, but not a lot of players were even born yet. Look for tough greens, doglegs and lots of scrambling on this Donald Ross gem…
Regular golf is back, yet again, at the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, CT. The Gregatron picks last week were more interested in watching the heavy weight duel of Koepka and Woodland down the stretch than making birdies. Really blew it there, not picking the 2-time defending champ, but I’ve learned my lesson for the next major…
Bob Hope once said that “Pebble Beach is Alcatraz with grass.” While it might scare the odd celebrity hacker, that won’t be the case this week at the U.S. Open. The rough will be long, the greens will be small, and pars will be good scores.
Top of da mornin’ to ya! Hopefully you’ve caught some of the coverage at the Open Championship on Day One in Portrush, Northern Ireland. Sorry the Gregatron was AWOL last week at the John Deere Classic.