"The stroke that followed will go down as the greatest final-hole putt in the history of major-championship golf."

This passage from Jaime Diaz's definitive account of the Tiger Woods knee saga would generate some fun debate, and since the news has been so dark lately...

The stroke that followed will go down as the greatest final-hole putt in the history of major-championship golf. There are plenty of candidates: grinding mid-rangers by Bobby Jones at Winged Foot, Payne Stewart at Pinehurst, Gary Player, Mark O'Meara and Phil Mickelson at Augusta, Seve Ballesteros at St. Andrews; no-brainer bombs by Jerry Barber at Olympia Fields, Hale Irwin at Medinah and Costantino Rocca at St. Andrews. But none of them surpassed Woods for the blend of setting, situation and reaction. And only Jones, arguably, had as much disappointment to face by missing. Never in golf has such a dramatically set stage had such a fulfilling resolution. As a final validation of a true stroke at the moment of truth, a close-up, slow-motion replay revealed that the alignment line on Woods' ball never wiggled until it fell into the hole.

I'm biased because I was standing there and thought the whole thing was pretty swell, but does Jaime have it right? Greatest final hole putt?

Comments

[Hawkeye]

Sure, why not? For reaction, though, I put it slightly behind Seve at S:t Andrews in ´84. And if you count non-majors as well, Vicente Fernandez at The Belfry in ´92 is unbeatable.

[Phil the Author]

How do you measure "final hole" putts in light of the Ryder Cup?

Justin Leonard sank a pretty good one...

[Pickworth]

I agree with Hawkeye about 1984. The orgasmic look on Seve's face and the matador thrusts with the arm afterwards are pretty hard to beat. There was something about that moment that trascended golf. With Woods at Torrey it was an exceptional moment within the game, not outside it. That is Woods power base, always within the game. With Seve it was way outside the confines of the game.

On the other hand, in 1984 it wasn't a putt to stay alive. Woods caught Mediate twice, on consecutive days, on the final green. The first one, the longer one, was something else, by that yardstick.

Good question, Geoff. Good question.

[KS]

It might be the best theater for a final putt ever, but there have been plenty of better putts on the final hole of a major. Greg Norman at Winged Foot comes to mind (non-winner, I know).

[mark]

As far as historical significance, I would rank it behind Jones at Winged Foot as that allowed him to complete the grand slam.

In hindsight, seeing that Tiger knew that he was done for the year and missing that putt would have meant he destroyed his knee for nothing (in his world, second place is nothing), I would rank it as the greatest putt of the televised golf era certainly and probably a 1a behind Jones of all time.

[Scotty]

How do you discount Constantino Rocca's putt from the Valley of Sin? Is it because he ultimately lost in the playoff to John Daly? Would Tiger's putt have been less dramatic had he lost to Rocco Mediate the next day? Maybe. But it was still a damn good clutch putt.

But in terms of "setting, situation and reaction," Rocca's was every bit the match to Tiger's. Setting: St. Andrews beats the hell bunker out of Torrey Pines every day. Situation: The claret jug was all but gone after a jaw-dropping chunked chip into the pit of despair. Reaction: When the much longer and more difficult putt climbed out of the valley, tracked toward the hole and finally disappeared, Rocca dropped to his knees and let out a primal scream. Daly dropped his cigarette butt from his gaping jaw in the clubhouse. In living rooms across the world, fans jumped off the sofa and screamed "no way!" Nobody expected that, while I'd say a large percentage (including Mediate) expected Tiger to make his putt.

Tiger's was a great moment. I was there to see it and marvel. But let's not get so caught up in the Tigermania (present company included among the guilty as charged) to start relegating other equally dramatic moments to second-fiddle status. This ranking the unrankable is beneath all of us. Leave that subjective crap to Olympic gymnastics and figure skating. Let's enjoy all these great 72nd-holers for what they are - unforgettable flashes of brilliance.

[Mark H.]

Why is there always a rush to declare the most recent accomplishment the "greatest ever"? Trying to rank things like this is completely subjective. Let's just agree it was a great putt, and a great moment, like the others mentioned.

[Mike C.]

I would put Jones' putt ahead. It was for all the marbles and the quality of the greens was most likely not as good. No TV commentators for that one though.

[pc]

I agree that it is impossible to rank such things...but it's sure fun to discuss. That said, I disagree with you Scotty. I vividly remember Rocco's putt and although very dramatic, it was completely unexpected and thus, if he had missed, it would not have been all that dissappointing. Plus, lets face it, there was a bit more luck on that putt than on Tiger's. The pressure on Tiger to make his putt was magnificent. He missed and he loses. It's a putt he could make and because he is Tiger, everyone on the planet expects him to make it. For him to then actually do it...that to me sets him apart from the rest of the mere mortals and makes in my mind his putt better than Rocco's.

[RM]

Payne Stewart's putt at Pinehurst in '99 was pretty special. I'd say that one and Tiger's at Torrey are tied at the top of the list in the modern/TV era. Phil at The Masters in '04 is right behind them. "Dumb luck" putts like Leonard and Rocca should not be given the same consideration.

I agree with Mark in that Tiger's putt was made even more crucial with his knowing the fact that if he missed it then he had damaged his knee and threatened his career for nothing. And I also agree that second place is nothing for Tiger.

[dan]

I would vote for the 1 inch jump.

A first major is more dramatic than what will likely be one of the 'teens' for Woods.

[Papa Bing]

How about Danny Noonan?

[Raymond Cherry]

PC nailed it. I was starting write my take on it when I realized I was just re-writing his.


Raymond

[Hod]

"As far as historical significance, I would rank it behind Jones at Winged Foot as that allowed him to complete the grand slam."

Mark, just remember that Jones closed out the Grand Slam at the US Amateur at Merion. And the US Open that year had been held at Interlachen.

[86general]

Agree--can't rank 'em. Tiger has had so many of these fist/arm pump moments that, well, I don't know I get bored with them after a while.

I guess we don't have footage of Bobby Jones' putt at Interlachen, but accounts of it are that it was a slithering downhiller...must have been pretty special, too.

What's amazing isn't the putt, it's that he made 160 some-odd swings with a torn ACL and probably seriously funkified articular cartilage.

[Hod]

The Jones putt I keep hearing about was at the '29 Open at Winged Foot, a slithering 12-footer for a birdie to tie Al Espinosa, who he killed the next day in a playoff.
First time I played the Foot, the member I was with paused at the top of the green and said, "This was where it took place. This was where Bobby Jones stood when he sank that putt."
Cut to the videotape of the imagination.

[Jimmy]

Has to be the Jones putt, but, jeez, not even an honorable mention for Mr. Ouimet? Most important match in U.S. history, surely. Cars honking in traffic directly behind the green...

[jneu]

David Toms made a pretty good putt on the 72nd hole that beat Lefty and vindicated his lay-up. Not as long as Phil's or O'Meara's, but every bit as dramatic given Toms's play on his second shot at Phil's majorless status at the time.

Jones probably had the same level of pressure on him at Winged Foot that Tiger did at Torrey, because of what he meant to golf at the time -- was Espinoza's status as a player any different from Rocco's? And Jones's putt was probably tougher -- a more difficult green in general for a downhill putt, in worse condition because of the times. The Woods injury adds drama, but also provides an obvious out psychologically if he'd failed. That he didn't fail -- didn't allow himself that out -- speaks volumes about his champion's mind.

My opinion: Jones 1, Woods 1a.

[jneu]

Meant to write "and Phil's majorless status" not "at Phil's..." Sorry.

[86general]

Dang I was wrong. The Jones putt at Interlachen was for a win...it was uphill, and quite long, at 40 feet. The one I think of is the one he needed at Winged Foot to tie. From the Jones website:

"On the 18th, Jones left his approach shot some forty feet short of the cup. Facing the possibility of a three-putt and a playoff, Jones calmly stroked the ball. The long, uphill putt somehow found the hole and Jones finished with an unlikely birdie and a two shot victory. Bobby Jones had become the first man to break par for 72 holes in a U.S. Open and now stood just one major championship away from the Grand Slam. "

[Hod]

OK, but can we agree that the greatest 15th hole putt in final round of a major was Hubert Green's at Southern Hills in 1977. He'd been informed on the tee that three gunmen were going to shoot him on that hole and would he please accept police protection.
You want pressure?

[Andy Brown]

I thought Tiger’s shot from the fairway at the end of the third round was a truly special moment. There was just something about his shot which ensured he reached the green in two which told you that this man was upto something special. The wince after he played that shot and the hobble towards the hole along with the crowd reaction was something special.

The final putt in itself was special but not extraordinary enough to be called whatever it is being called. To my mind, it would still have to be the putt at Pinehurst in 98 by Payne Stewart that would have to be considered the best ever. What made it even more special was that final flourish and the celebration which has been captured so beautifully, so much so that everyone associates Payne Stewart with that pose. Unfortunately the world lost a great golfer just a few months after his major win.

But if it has to be a series of putts, then undoubtedly it has to be Jerry Barber at Olympia Fields in the PGA Championship. The stories that we hear about his final three holes and how he forced a playoff would probably be considered impossible if he actually didn’t make it happen !

[Ronald Montesano]

Wow, finally my turn...have you all been waiting? Greatest final hole putt of the mass media age belongs to Tiger in 2008 at Torrey Pines. Everything that others have added (injury, shots hit along the way, make or go home scenario) are the bricks that make up the foundation.

We have to reduce this to a "make or go home" situation because the "miss and still be alive" possibility eliminates the pressure (except in the "I might be killed" Hubert Green scenario.) Jones at Winged Foot to force the playoff makes the list. Woods at Valhalla makes the list. Hell, even May at Valhalla makes the list, since he never thought Woods would miss. Montesano at Transit Valley (see, I made this putt in the gloaming in the Fall of 1982 to win a high school match and league championship for my team) never gets the respect it deserves.

Thoughts?

[Frank Hannigan]

Why is it necessary that everthing has to be quantified? Because it makes
golf writing easier, that's why. Still, that slick Jaime has sucked me in
How can Irwin's put t not be #1, given its length?

The Ballesteros putt to win at St. Andrews gets into the pantheon because
of his face. Hell, Jaime could havemade 3 on the l8th hole tthat day. To show off,
I report i was watching from a tiny balcony outside the office of the Secretary
of the R&A. looking straight down. It was chilling, but my dim recollection is that Seve, in all probabiliy, had 2 putts to win, depending on what Watson would do on l8..

It hardly seems possible,bujt I thnk Jery Barber ;made 3 straight 30 footers tro
win his PGA over January.

Jaime: to escape furher work you should follow up with a compendium of
saddest putts to conclude great occasions Poor Rossie to become the
best ever of TV's walkikng announcers, missed a 3 footer to tie Orville
Moody for a US Open.

And then there was the stab of a 3 footer by Doug Sanders to beat Ncklaus by
a shot on the Old Course. It prompted the best bit of golf commentary ever
by the BBC's Henry Longhurst who paused and said " And there but the
grace of God"...


.

And Hogan three putted the li8th at both the l946 Masters ans US Opens.,
The day after the Masters a newsreel film maker named Joe Walsh was to shnoot an
instructional film with Hogan. When they met Joe said :I'm very sory Ben."
Hogan's reply: "Don't worry about jit Joe. That happened a long time ago.:"

[CBell]

I vote for Frank ahead of ... just about any other color commentator alive.

Thank you.

[BillV]

Jaime Diaz is as usual wholly and utterly full of pooh. Everything that happens now MUST be better than in the past. Of course Tiger's putt never wobbled as greens are now perfect for the boys on the course. Oh yeah, it happened in So Cal, too, just like a Hollywood moment.

As for the article's title:

"What now after Tiger's knee injury?
Could it turn out that he'll be ... even better?"

There is a real possibility that he may never reach his past levels again, why do you think team Tiger with cheerleader Hank Haney leading the way are telling us he'll be "Better than new with a 'normal' knee"? Normal Knee? Someone doesn't understand Orthopaedics very well. His post-op course has been far from a routine ACL. I think that if Tiger wins a major within two years it'll be a bigger story than the Torrey Pines win. He won't be normal, it'll be harder than anyone in the media thinks it will be for a good recovery and the competition will be stepped up a few notches. Lots of hills to climb.

Of course, everything possible must be done to continue to build Brand Tiger as there's even a 50:50 chance the era of Tiger is over. He's really got to build an entirely new swing now.

I'll stand by my Tiger smack, too.


Oh yeah:
*I've probably go to go with Jones at Winged Foot - by a big margin.