Devil Ball Golf - Golf

We're at the end of the decade of the 2000s, and it's time to look back on some of golf's most amazing achievements over that span. Today, we focus on the most amazing PGA shots of the last 10 years. Sit back and relax, this one's going to be fun. [UPDATED by popular demand!]

1. Tiger Woods, 2005 Masters, 16th hole. "In your life, have you seen anything like that?" Nope. Never. Beautiful.

2. Shaun Micheel's approach, 2003 PGA Championship, 18th hole. One of the most impressive shots ever to clinch a major championship, it was instantly ranked the "shot of the decade" by many pundits. Of course, that was before Tiger's shot above, but no. 2 is still a good spot, yes?

3. Y.E. Yang's approach, 2009 PGA Championship, 18th hole. It wasn't until Yang hit this beautiful approach shot that his surprising victory over Tiger Woods became complete. 

4. Phil Mickelson's seeing-eye approach shot, 2008 Colonial, 18th hole. How Phil put this shot where he did will forever remain a mystery, but he won the tournament with an approach for the ages.

5. Padraig Harrington's second shot, 2008 British Open, 17th hole. With the Claret Jug in sight, Harrington unleashed one of the prettiest golf shots in memory against howling winds. Anybody else, this ball would have ended up out of bounds; the way Harrington was playing, it nestled up to the flag.

6. Tiger Woods, bunker shot, 18th hole, 2002 PGA Championship. You probably don't remember this shot, and we don't even have video of it, but it's here for one reason: Tiger has ranked it as the No. 1 shot he's ever hit in his professional career. He was 202 yards out, in a fairway bunker, facing 20-mph wins. The ball sat below his feet, and he had to clear trees and hook it to put it onto the green. Naturally, he put it to within 12 feet of the hole. The shot came in the second round of the championship, and Woods didn't win; Rich Beem did. Even so, this shot ranks as one of the finest of his career.

7. Phil Mickelson's final putt, 2004 Masters, 18th hole. In 2004, Phil Mickelson stood over an 18-foot birdie putt that had the potential to change his life. On the 18th at Augusta, with his first major finally within reach, Mickelson tapped the putt just enough that it caught the edge of the cup and dropped, giving him -- at last -- a green jacket. It was the most important putt of his life, and he nailed it.

8. Tiger Woods, 2008 Open, 18th hole. This was the putt that put him in the playoff with Rocco Mediate at Torrey Pines. You knew this was going in, and so did Rocco.

9. David Toms' ace, 2001 PGA Championship, 15th hole. Toms held off Phil Mickelson to win his first major, and no shot was more critical than his ace in the third round on the 15th at the Atlanta Athletic Club. He was trailing Mickelson by a shot, but that ace -- at 243 yards, the longest ever recorded by a major champion -- proved to be the difference in the tournament.

10. Geoff Ogilvy's chip, 2006 U.S. Open, 17th hole. Phil Mickelson threw open the door by falling apart on the 18th at Winged Foot, but Ogilvy couldn't have taken advantage were it not for this beautiful chip on 17:

Honorable mentions: Leif Olson's amazing bank-shot ace at the 2009 RBC Canadian, Tiger Woods' playoff birdie at the 2000 PGA, Jamie Lovemark's insanely lucky break at the 2009 Frys.com Open.

Bonus! We had so many demands for Craig Parry's hole-out to win the 2004 Doral, we had to include it. Slot it in wherever you like. 

All right, your turn. What did we miss? Where do your favorite shots of the 2000s slot in? Have at it!

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43 Comments

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  1. js_nols
    1. Posted by js_nols Fri Nov 13, 2009 11:59 am EST

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    In my life, I HAVE seen a shot like Tiger's on 16. In fact, I've seen that EXACT shot on 16, which occurred a few years earlier (1999, I believe) by Davis Love. Granted, Love's shot did not have the significance of Tiger's, and of course, DL3 failed to win, but YES, it had been done before.
  2. Lefty Grove
    2. Posted by Lefty Grove Fri Nov 13, 2009 12:18 pm EST

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    One shot that isn't on the list that I thought would be there is Davis Love III's 6-iron second shot on 16 during the final round of the 2003 Players Championship (Yes, that's the great round where he shot 64 and won the tournament). I hope this won't cause any problems...here is a link to that shot:
    http://sports.yahoo.com/video/player/golf/Top_Shots/15860073#golf/Top_Shots/16512464
  3. Jay Busbee
    3. Posted by Jay Busbee Fri Nov 13, 2009 12:25 pm EST

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    @ Lefty: Good call. No problem at all posting links; feel free to do that. They won't be "live," but people can cut and paste.
  4. houstongolfnut
    4. Posted by houstongolfnut Fri Nov 13, 2009 12:32 pm EST

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    You forgot to put in Harrington's 4th shot from the bunker on 16 at the Firestone this year.
  5. houstongolfnut
    5. Posted by houstongolfnut Fri Nov 13, 2009 12:32 pm EST

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    You forgot to put in Harrington's 4th shot from the bunker on 16 at the Firestone this year.
  6. bp
    6. Posted by bp Fri Nov 13, 2009 12:34 pm EST

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    How about Yang's wood on 18 of PGA to kill any chance of a Tiger come back? With all the world watching, this man, unused to winning, playing head to head with Tiger hits a perfect wood to a few feet. It completed a great day and was as clutch a shot as any i have seen, and aginst Tiger in red.
    Let's face it, in a play like that, Tiger was laying it into the slopes so it rolls down the hill and BY the cup. If he actually planned for it to go in, he would have smiled the whole way and said yah, just right. No, he knew it would be close and then was elated and lucky it went in. I have had similar shots many times, where you hit it where you want it and it rolls close, sometimes you get lucky and it goes in. the skill is in the consistancy that gets you there every time.
  7. emma
    7. Posted by emma Fri Nov 13, 2009 1:47 pm EST

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    tiger woods shots could have easily been 7 out of the top 10 but they tried to include other golfers too
  8. Jay Busbee
    8. Posted by Jay Busbee Fri Nov 13, 2009 1:56 pm EST

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    @ Emma: Don't fret, Tiger's getting his own categories.
    @ bp: See #3.
  9. scott
    9. Posted by scott Fri Nov 13, 2009 2:20 pm EST

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    @6 did u even bother to watch the above videos or read anything up above.......yangs shot on 18 is ranked 3rd!!!
    geez ppl annoy me that post and dont read
  10. Lori
    10. Posted by Lori Fri Nov 13, 2009 2:34 pm EST

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    I would have made #2 be V. J. skipping off the water into the hole.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLzX62nXPTo
    If you havn't seen it you must.
  11. Ron H
    11. Posted by Ron H Fri Nov 13, 2009 2:38 pm EST

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    I think that Tiger's chip-in in the 2005 Masters might be the best ever, and I'm not a
    Tiger fan. Most dramatic anyway. Yang's shot made me much happier. Phil's sand
    shot, from a buried lie at the Memorial, was great also.
  12. chiron
    12. Posted by chiron Fri Nov 13, 2009 3:18 pm EST

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    #1, DL3's shot did not give a protracted nod to the gods (paticularly the godess Nike) before it finally succumbed to Tigers will.
  13. rdb1413
    13. Posted by rdb1413 Fri Nov 13, 2009 3:21 pm EST

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    Tiger chip is NOT the best shot, Davis Love played the same shot the year before. It was his only option and the slope had to take the ball towards the hole, so no big deal there. His best shot was the six iron out of the fairway bunker over water to a tight right hand pin that was truly amazing
  14. JFO
    14. Posted by JFO Fri Nov 13, 2009 4:13 pm EST

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    Whaaaat? How is Craig Parrys hole out from 167 to win the tournament at Doral not on this list? So what if that week Johnny Miller said that if Ben Hogan saw Craig Parrys swing he would puke. This shot is definitely in the top 10 of the decade. Take Ogilvys chip in off this list. That shot should not have meant anything because Phil handed him that trophy. It was a cookie cutter chip in that should have meant nothing.
  15. Last to Know
    15. Posted by Last to Know Fri Nov 13, 2009 4:15 pm EST

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    I make shots like these every day, but there are no cameras to catch it. I must be the greatest of all time.
  16. Courtney
    16. Posted by Courtney Fri Nov 13, 2009 4:42 pm EST

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    The answer to "In your life have you ever seen a shot like that ?" is YES !!! I saw Davis Love III do it 2 years earlier on the same hole in a more difficult spot. The only reason this shot keeps getting put at the top of these lists is that (1) it was done by Tiger Woods and (2) Nike made it into a commercial and reminded everybody every chance they got.
  17. richy11_84
    17. Posted by richy11_84 Fri Nov 13, 2009 4:44 pm EST

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    How about this one to start off the decade........Standing behind the 72nd hold @ The Canadian Open, @ Glen Abbey I watched Tiger hit out of the fairway bunker. It was a 220yd Carry to the green... the kicker the last 75 yds was all water and he did it with a 6 IRON !!! Oh yeah and he won the Triple Crown http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DK9aS-tr1gE check out Min 2:23
  18. Steve
    18. Posted by Steve Fri Nov 13, 2009 4:45 pm EST

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    Yeah it should probably be best dramatic shots or clutch shots, but there's no way you can narrow it down to the best actual shots so I guess it's implied (otherwise it would just be a bunch of double eagles and hole in ones).
  19. jd
    19. Posted by jd Fri Nov 13, 2009 4:53 pm EST

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    #14 So true. A basic chip shot should not be on this list of amazing shots. And Craig Parry's should easily be top 5.
  20. Jay Busbee
    20. Posted by Jay Busbee Fri Nov 13, 2009 4:55 pm EST

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    @ Steve: Exactly. This is a pretty flexible concept; we give more weight to majors than to great shots made in off-week tournaments, but then it's not like there's a scientific formula here or anything. Just click on the vids and enjoy.
  21. MARK
    21. Posted by MARK Fri Nov 13, 2009 5:01 pm EST

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    wayyyy too much Tiger...just like always.
  22. Perl
    22. Posted by Perl Fri Nov 13, 2009 5:06 pm EST

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    That was the greatest golf moment I have ever seen.
    The best thing was how the ball hovered on the lip of the hole for a pregnant second.
    In my life have I never yelled that loudly after a golf shot!
  23. Voice of Reason
    23. Posted by Voice of Reason Fri Nov 13, 2009 5:26 pm EST

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    GREAT POST Jay! Love this blog! What about Sergio's shot from behind the tree at Medinah????????? :)
  24. Voice of Reason
    24. Posted by Voice of Reason Fri Nov 13, 2009 5:27 pm EST

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    Jay....I'm an idiot......2000's not 1990's......Sorry ....MY BAD!
  25. greg h
    25. Posted by greg h Fri Nov 13, 2009 6:10 pm EST

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    Thanks Jay for reminding us of this shot! Tiger does have a lot of them that's for sure. One of my favorites of his, is the putt at eighteen fot force a playoff against Rocco, at Torrey!
    Good stuff!

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