GolfPlus Digital March 2021 | Page 19

On the PGA Tour
“ I knew how quick it was , so I gave it a little bit more , It broke left a lot at the top with the old green . It broke left a lot at the top and then it just snapped at the right .”
- tiger Woods
down that slope ; they don ’ t read enough break . It breaks to the right and the ball ends up in the fringe .”
Roy and Koch discussed the situation that Woods now faced . Back from commercial , Koch set up the scenario as Woods reached his ball and began visualizing the 60-foot putt and taking a few practice strokes .
Finally , Tiger made contact with his ball . NBC analyst Johnny Miller then asked Koch an on-air question . “ How ’ s that look ?”
Koch noticed that Tiger ’ s line and speed were different than the previous putts from that spot . He quickly answered Miller .
“ Better than most .” Twenty years later , Koch ’ s response remains the most famous line ever uttered in the 47-year history of THE PLAYERS Championship . And it describes the single most important shot of the 5,054 that Woods has struck in his 19 professional starts at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass .
That it happened at the PGA TOUR ’ s most famous hole adds to the legend .
The highlight – with Koch ’ s description and Tiger pumping his fist to a euphoric gallery after the ball rolled into the hole – is revisited every year . It ’ s an indelible part of THE PLAYERS , a magical moment on a magical hole during a magical stretch of golf by the best player of his generation . And it fueled the first of Woods ’ two career victories at THE PLAYERS .
“ I don ’ t think anybody doesn ’ t know it now ,” said World Golf Hall of Famer Retief Goosen , in the field that week . “ I think everybody knows . … That line is going to always be associated with Tiger .”
Of course , to coax that line out of Koch , Tiger had to deliver the shot . Thanks to getting “ a little teach ” from Funk ’ s initial putt , Woods realized he needed to make a slight adjustment .
“ I knew how quick it was , so I gave it a little bit more ,” Woods explained . “ It broke left
a lot at the top with the old green . It broke left a lot at the top and then it just snapped at the right .
“ Yeah , I hit my spot and I was just hoping that it would take the break because I saw Fred ’ s , how much it went to the right at the end , and my putt was not going right . I ’ m like , would you start breaking ? And as soon as it started to break , I ’ m like , stop breaking . And then it caught the low side of the hole and went in .”
Koch ’ s call of the shot brought chills to the television audience because of his repetition of the “ better than most ” line . The first time he uttered it , Woods ’ ball has just left the top shelf and was veering left . The second time he said it , the ball had now swung back toward the right . The third time came as the ball found the bottom of the cup . Each time , his voice rose as the dramatic moment played out .
“ As it got going down the hill , it was clear to me the ball was far enough to the left , way more so than any other ball had been all day long ,” Koch said . “ That was when the next ‘ better than most ’ came out . And then , of course , it went in the hole . ‘ Better than most .’
“ The great thing to me , if you go back and watch that , no one said a word for probably close to 45 seconds ,” he continued . “ It was all Tiger ’ s reaction . And back then , at THE PLAYERS … there weren ’ t all the corporate
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