2008 PGA Tour Award Series: Shot Of The Year

Shot Of The Year: Tiger Woods Putt On The 72nd Hole Of the US Open

There are several shots that immediately come to mind when thinking about which one of the many spectacle shots in the 2008 season could be labeled as the "Shot Of The Year."

Mickelson’s sand wedge on the 72nd hole of the Crown Plaza Invitational at Colonial comes to mind. 

After slicing his drive on the 18th hole with a one-stroke lead, Mickelson was staring down yet another disastrous meltdown. 

Mickelson had two options, a 100-yard shot over several trees which were blinding his view of the green or to chip out and hope to make par, or worst-case scenario, make a bogey and force a playoff.

With vivid memories of the 2006 US Open at Winged Foot entering the minds of everyone watching, Michelson’s made the only decision you would expected Phil Mickelson to make.  He asked his caddie, Jim ‘Bones’ MacKay, for the sand wedge and began lining up his approach shot out of the trees and directly to the green. 

Mickelson’s perfectly struck sand wedge briefly caught a couple of leaves on its ascent, dropped down on the green and finished five feet from the hole. 

You would have expected to see Walter Hagan or Seve Ballesteros come walking out of the trees but it was Phil Mickelson with a huge smile on his face knowing that one of his reckless decisions was finally going to pay him dividends.

Padraig Harrington’s 5-wood on the par-5 17th hole of the final round at the British Open also comes to mind. 

Greg Norman, who was trailing but just a stroke at the time, lost any glimmer of hope he had as he watched Harrington strike a 5-wood as a perfectly as a golf shot could possibly be hit. 

Harrington’s ball pierced Royal Birkdale’s howling winds, landed on the front of the green and rolled to within three feet of the hole. 

Norman could only sit by and watch as the crowd exploded along with his dreams of pulling off what would have probably been the most miraculous win in the history of the game.

But all things considered, Tiger Woods’ 10-foot left-to-right sliding putt on the 72nd hole of the US Open was the shot of the year and undoubtedly one of the greatest shots in the history of the sport.

It was glaringly obvious that Tiger Woods was playing the 2008 US Open in a tremendous amount of pain. 

What we didn’t know at the time was that he was actually playing and a torn ACL and a broken fibula.

After watching Woods limp around 72 holes, grimacing in pain on nearly every shot, it all came down to one putt to force an 18-hole playoff with Rocco Mediate. 

Tiger went about his routine of walking a complete circle around his putting line to get a good look at every angle his ball would take on its way to the hole. 

With the backdrop of a stadium-like gallery, Woods struck his putt. 

For a moment it looked like Woods hadn’t played enough break but as we have seen time and time again, Woods' ball seemed to stay above the break just long enough as if the golf gods were holding it there for some kind of predetermined path to greatness they had already planned out for Woods. 

Woods' ball caught the side of the cup and dropped. 

We have seen animated celebrations from Woods in the past, but none as animated or intense as he and caddie Steve Williams’ celebration on the 18th green at Torrey Pines. 

We all knew that this amazing putt would be shown on highlight reels for years to come, but only Tiger Woods, Steve Williams, and a small handful of others knew the true magnitude of what he had just accomplished. 

Tiger Woods limped around Torrey Pines for an additional 19 holes the following afternoon to finally defeat Rocco Mediate on the first hole of a sudden death playoff.

It was not until a few days later the Woods finally let the world in on the severity of his injuries. 

When we heard about Woods' injuries and how he would be out for the remainder of the 2008 season, shock was the first emotion that came over us. 

When we had time to digest the news and think about it, it was then that we realized Tiger Woods had actually won the 2008 US Open on one leg and that his putt on the 72nd hole would live as one of the greatest putts in the history of the game.