The five best shots in Masters history
Every year there are golf shots at Augusta National that will be burned in our memory for a long time. Matt Kuchar holing out from the back bunker at 16 when he was an amateur is one. Phil Mickelson rolling in a birdie putt on the 72nd hole to win his first major championship in 2004 is another. But few are historic golf shots that will live forever in the lore of the Masters. Which shots are the five best ever in the history of the Masters? Read on and see ...
5. Phil Mickelson's 6-iron on 13 in 2010 -- I still to this day think the shot was a little farther right than he wanted, but out of the pine straw on the par-5, Mickelson pulled off the shot of the year, sticking it close enough for a two-putt birdie that kept the momentum going and landed him his third green jacket in seven years. It was the type of shot that Mickelson will forever be remembered for; risky, a bit nuts, but his talent was enough to pull it off.
4. Tiger Woods' chip shot on the 16th hole in 2005 -- In 100 years, people will still be talking about some of the golf shots Tiger has pulled off over his career, but none will ever surpass the chip shot he hit on the par-3 in the final round. Short-sided, Tiger pitched it up the slope, and as it started down the hill, not even the broadcasters could believe it. It stopped on the lip for a dramatic pause, went in the hole, and was just enough to get Tiger in a playoff with Chris DiMarco, whom he would defeat on the 18th green.
3. Jack Nicklaus' tee shot on 16 in 1986 -- Nicklaus calls this tee shot one of the cockiest moments of his career, when son Jackie yelled "Be the right club" at his 5-iron as it was in the air, and Jack simply said, "It is." The ball nearly went in for an ace, he rolled the putt in for a two on his way to a back-nine 30 and the greatest win in the history of this event.
2. Larry Mize chip-in at the 11th hole during a playoff in 1987 -- Golfers joke on practice greens and chipping greens all the time about having this putt or this shot to win a Masters, but Mize actually had it right of the green on the 11th during his playoff with Greg Norman. The Augusta native (pictured) hit the chip from 140 feet and ran around as it hit the pin and dropped in, winning his only green jacket and cementing Norman as the most snake-bitten player ever at Augusta.
1. Gene Sarazen's double-eagle at 15 in 1935 -- Just think about this for a second while you grasp this golf shot -- in 1935, a golfer hit a 4-wood 235 yards into the hole for a two on a par-5. This wasn't titanium or white-headed drivers, this was the stuff that wasn't supposed to go that far. Sarazen hit the "shot heard 'round the world" at 15 to pull equal with Craig Wood, whom he would go on to defeat the next day in a playoff. It is not only the greatest shot in the history of the Masters, but arguably the greatest shot in golf history.
