U.S. Open: 10 most clutch shots of all time
By Luke Norris
2. Tiger Woods-2008 U.S. Open, Torrey Pines, 18th hole
Some people might not like Tiger in this spot but come on…..he had a broken freaking leg at the 2008 U.S. Open and still somehow managed to win.
Tiger Woods has given the golf world some of the most spectacular shots in history. There was the “this isn’t a fair fight” shot at the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, the “better than most” putt at THE PLAYERS in 2001, the chip-in on 16 at the 2005 Masters and countless others. We got used to him coming through in the clutch and he wowed once again at Torrey Pines in the final round of the 2008 U.S. Open.
Tiger sat four shots back after the first round but cut the lead to one following a second-round 68, which he followed up with a 1-under 70 on Day 3 to get into the final pairing with Lee Westwood, who was one back at 2-under for the tournament. Rocco Mediate was two shots back entering the final round and played solid golf on Sunday, shooting an even-par 71 to take the clubhouse lead at 1-under.
Tiger and Westwood came to the par-5 finishing hole one shot back of Mediate and both went into the bunker off the tee. Westwood got back into the fairway on his second but Woods found the rough but was able to hit his third shot to 12 feet. Westwood hit his third to about 15 feet and was faced with a big left-to-right putt to force a playoff. He missed and once again came up just short in a major championship, setting the stage for Tiger to take his attempt at forcing a playoff.
With Mediate looking on at a TV monitor just off the green, Woods took his stroke and watched the ball nearly lip out before dropping into the cup and he (and the gallery as well) went absolutely crazy. Rocco could say nothing except that he expected Tiger to make it and I don’t think anyone watching that day wasn’t thinking the same thing. It’s what Tiger did in his prime and it’s one of the most awesome moments in U.S. Open history. Woods would win the playoff the following day in 19 holes and would take the rest of the year off following knee surgery.