“Better Than Most” at Sawgrass (2001 Players Championship)
Tiger Woods, armed with a trusty putter, stepped up to the island green at TPC Sawgrass. This time, he had a 60+ foot putt with lots of breaks to contend with. Most players would probably just be thinking about getting the ball close. Not Woods. No, he went for the win.
As the ball tracked its way towards the hole, commentator Gary Koch was getting excited in the background and repeating that now legendary phrase: “Better than most.” Before we knew it, the ball dropped, the crowd just lost it, and another one of those incredible Tiger moments was born.
That putt didn’t just win the tournament; it became a part of golf history.
Playing Through Pain at Torrey Pines (2008 U.S. Open)
The 2008 U.S. Open was a tournament to remember for far more than just the golf. People were just as stunned by Tiger Woods’ incredible determination to carry on playing despite his injuries. He’d been dealing with a torn ACL and stress fractures in his leg, but still, he carried on.
On the final hole, he needed a birdie to at least force a playoff. It wasn’t going to be an easy putt – but he sunk it and pretty much went wild… fist-pumping and roaring – the whole place was abuzz!
Come the following day, he outlasted Rocco Mediate in a 19-hole playoff, one of the toughest, most heart-stopping victories in golf history.
Justin Leonard and Ryder Cup Bedlam (1999)
You know how pressure can feel when it’s all on you? That’s a different story altogether when you have a whole team waiting on you. At the 1999 Ryder Cup, Justin Leonard stepped up to a 45-foot putt that would make or break the whole competition.
He struck it spot on. The ball rolled, broke, and disappeared into the cup. That was it. Pandemonium took over!
The putt sealed one of the most incredible comebacks in Ryder Cup history, and it’s a moment that still makes for some pretty memorable images. Leonard didn’t just make a putt; he sparked a whole nation off into a frenzy.