On the PGA Tour
TWO DECADES LATER , TIGER ’ S
‘ BETTER THAN MOST ’ MOMENT LIVES ON by Mike McAllister
wenty years ago , Tiger Woods stood on the tee box at the iconic par-3 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass . It was a Saturday , the third round of THE PLAYERS Championship in 2001 , and Woods was chasing the leaders . Some 137 yards away - specifically at the back top shelf of the island green – stood Fred Funk , putter in hand . He had a long , speedy , multiple-breaking putt . Woods fixated his
18 GolfPlus MARCH 2021 gaze on the putt , curious to see the line and the result .
It was not good . Funk ’ s putt quickly gathered speed , ran past the hole and ran off the green . He eventually four-putted , making double bogey despite staying dry . Tiger took note .
Don ’ t hit it where Funk did . Don ’ t leave yourself with an impossible putt .
One swing later and , of course , Woods found himself in nearly the same spot at the 17th green that Funk had just vacated . “ Crap iron shot ” is how Tiger described it many years later . That ’ s probably being kind .
NBC , the tournament ’ s long-time broadcast partner , went to commercial . Commentator Gary Koch , in the TV tower behind the 16th green , used the break to give producer Tommy Roy a head ’ s up . Not only had Funk just suffered a disastrous fate from that spot , but so did a handful of other players that day .
“ Every single one of them had putted the ball off the green ,” Koch recalled . “ It comes