Final round flourishes

Now the dust has settled around the carnage that was the final round of the Masters, Boss of the Moss thought it was an ample time to celebrate some great final round moments.

For a long time on Sunday it appeared that none of the handful of players in the running was going to step up to the mark and take the tournament by the scruff of the neck.

Thank the Lord then that Adam Scott, Jason Day and, crucially, Charl Schwartzel managed to turn it on when it mattered. You can’t argue with a quadruple birdie finish on any golf course, less so at Augusta when you’re gunning for your maiden major in a pressure cooker environment and Tiger with his feet up as the clubhouse leader.

It’s with that in mind that we celebrate some momentous moments of brilliance in the closing round of a major. Some you will remember – expect even. Others less so.

Tiger Woods – chip at hole 16, 2005 Masters



We’ll start with the obvious. Back when he could do no wrong, Tiger Woods often did the impossible. This shot in the last round of his 2005 triumph was the epitome of that.

Left with a sticky lie just off the green, Woods was left with a horror shot just to make par. In its typical Sunday position, the pin was at the bottom of a steep downslope leaving Woods with the prospect of having to hit the ball away from the hole, land it at just the right spot to catch the top of the hill, and then watch as it rolled to the holeside for a tap-in par.

Being Woods it was a lot better than that. Watch as he hits the shot and you momentarily think he has over-cooked it, before it checks at exactly the right moment to roll down towards the cup. Marvel at the way the ball tracks towards the hole on a seemingly inevitable path.

Finally, watch how the ball stops, wipes its feet and has a look around before dropping. The way the Nike ‘swoosh’ on the ball reveals itself as it topples into the hole is the stuff Mr Nike probably still has wet dreams about.

Of course this shot wasn’t decisive, although it did ultimately guarantee Woods a play-off against Chris DiMarco, which he went on to win. Shot that won the Masters? Not quite. Shot of the Masters? Quite possibly.