Ranking the 10 Best Shots of 2014 on the PGA Tour

The best shots of 2014 on the PGA Tour range from an albatross to excavation efforts in the desert to brilliantly (and not-so-brilliantly) struck approach shots.

In evaluating the "best," we took a look at situational difficulty, overall drama, the significance of the shot and the general excitement factor. Oh, and having video of the shot available on YouTube was a plus, too. 

A note: Bubba Watson's hole-out at the WGC-HSBC Champions isn't included because even though it occurred in 2014, the tournament is part of the 2014-15 calendar. 

With that said, click through and let the first video roll. 

10. Tiger Woods: WGC-Cadillac Championship Final Round, 4th Hole

Who doesn't love a long putt, especially when it's holed by one of the most popular golfers in the world?

Tiger Woods knocked in the second-longest putt of his professional career at the par-three fourth hole during his final round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship. The 91-foot bomb at Doral is second only to a 123-footer Woods made in 2001 at the Champions Golf Club. 

Woods' putt makes the list because, well, he's Tiger Woods, so it was exciting. The lack of any real significance, however, makes it the highest-ranked shot in our rundown. 

9. Phil Mickelson: The Barclays Round 3, 5th Hole

And while we're on the subject of things people enjoy, how about Phil being Phil? 

Phil Mickelson's on-course unpredictability and willingness to attempt any shot were on display at the Barclays earlier this year. 

Two days in a row, Mickelson hit his tee shot left of the green at the 291-yard par-four fifth hole at Ridgewood Country Club. 

During his second round, Mickelson made bogey from the beer lounge his golf ball wound up in, finding a greenside bunker with his lob wedge approach. During the third round, however, hitting from nearly the same location, Phil the Thrill found the putting surface and narrowly missed his birdie putt. 

While Mickelson was never a factor in the tournament, the shot was absurd, exciting and quintessentially Phil.

8. James Hahn: Sony Open Round 2, 9th Hole

James Hahn racked up one of the most elusive tallies in professional golf at the Sony Open: an albatross.

Hahn holed his approach shot from 193 yards out at the par-five ninth hole. Even crazier: The albatross was the second of his young career. 

The rarity of the feat earns Hahn the eighth spot on this list.

7. Billy Horschel: Tour Championship Final Round, 16th Hole

FedEx Cup champion Billy Horschel effectively sealed the deal with a 30-foot par putt at the 16th hole during the final round of the Tour Championship.  

While the putt wasn't the most exciting shot in the world, it was incredibly significant. Horschel bore down and poured in a 30-footer to salvage par after two poor shots. In doing so, he maintained his advantage and coasted to the victory.

Thus, in a sense, the putt was worth $10 million (the amount of the FedEx Cup winner's bonus). Not bad.

6. Victor Dubuisson: WGC-Accenture Match Play Final Round, 19th Hole

If this were a list of the most ridiculous shots of significance on the PGA Tour in 2014, Victor Dubuisson's two recovery shots from the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship would top the list. 

Instead, Dubuisson's shot(s) land him in the sixth position on this list. The Frenchman's heroics merely prolonged the inevitable at Dove Mountain: losing to a superior player in Jason Day. 

Dubuisson stayed alive with the ridiculous pair of recovery efforts on the 19th and 20th holes of his match. Which one makes the list in the sixth position? Take your pick.

5. Martin Kaymer: The Players Championship Final Round, 17th Hole

Martin Kaymer was leaking oil as he came to the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass during the final round of The Players Championship. 

Things didn't get much better after his approach when he chunked his second shot from greenside barely onto the putting surface. The German found himself staring down a 30-foot putt for par that he had to make to head to the 18th hole with a one-stroke lead. 

Miraculously, Kaymer read the putt and rolled his ball perfectly. It was a huge putt under pressure to stem the tide and cement a comeback victory that set the stage for his U.S. Open romp. 

4. Rory McIlroy: Honda Classic Final Round, 18th Hole

If Rory McIlroy would have gone on to win the Honda Classic, his 245-yard approach shot at the 18th hole could have been the shot of the year. Instead, McIlroy lost to Russell Henley in a playoff and he lands in our fourth spot. 

McIlroy dropped three strokes in the course of playing the 16th and 17th holes and stood on the 18th tee a stroke out of the lead. He piped his drive and found himself nearly 250 yards out. Needing birdie to tie and eagle to win, McIlroy pured his three-wood approach to set up an eagle putt. 

Ultimately, he missed the putt, settled for birdie and lost in the ensuing playoff, but the shot stands as a truly brilliant strike under pressure.

3. Matt Jones: Shell Houston Open Final Round, 18th Hole, 1st Playoff Hole

Unheralded Matt Jones poured in a birdie putt on the 72nd hole of the Shell Houston Open to force a playoff with Matt Kuchar. 

He then outdid himself entirely on the first playoff hole, holing a pitch shot from well off the green to win his first PGA Tour event. 

A hole-out for a win? It doesn't get much more dramatic, exciting or significant than that. Thus Jones takes the third spot in this rundown.

2. Matt Kuchar: RBC Heritage Final Round, 18th Hole

Two weeks after Matt Jones dashed Matt Kuchar's hopes of winning the Shell Houston Open with his miraculous pitch in, Kuchar himself knocked one in from off the green to win.  

Kuchar's approach at the 18th hole during the final round found the front bunker. From a decent lie in the sand, Kuchar struck his bunker shot perfectly. It trundled across the green on a vector for the hole and eventually found the bottom of the cup. 

''I heard the crowd go crazy, then I went crazy," said Kuchar of his RBC Heritage-winning hole-out (per The Associated Press). 

While Kuchar and Jones' tournament-winning hole-outs are on basically the same level, the excitement factor is higher with Kuchar due to his extremely animated, near-hat-spiking celebration. 

1. Rory McIlroy: PGA Championship Final Round, 10th Hole

How can the No. 1 shot of the year be a mishit? Because of the result. And because Rory McIlroy's approach on the par-five 10th hole during the final round of the PGA Championship (around 4:17:00 in the video above) is evidence the golf gods favored him this year.

It was evidence that, for a period of time in the late summer, Rory McIlroy could do no wrong, and the shot was essential to McIlroy's capture of his second major in a row: the PGA Championship. 

McIlroy caught his approach from 281 yards away slightly off the heel of his Nike Covert three-wood. It probably took off 25 feet left of the line he intended to take. However, the ball got a great kick and rolled along a perfect line (after coming out low and hot) and settled just seven feet away from the cup. It was an approach he couldn't have bettered with 100 well-struck shots. 

McIlroy had just watched Rickie Fowler birdie the 10th hole to pull three strokes ahead of him. The eagle, set up by the accidentally brilliant approach, cut Fowler's lead to one. And the rest is history.

Without this shot, McIlroy doesn't win the PGA Championship and isn't going for the career Grand Slam at the Masters in April.