On the PGA Tour
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Unlike most of his career-defining shots that came in the final round , Woods was not wearing a red shirt . Remember , this was the third round on Saturday , so Woods wore a white shirt with thin vertical black stripes . The birdie putt only moved him closer to tournament leader Jerry Kelly .
hospitality areas at 17 . That hillside was absolutely packed with people and they erupted . … When people ask about it , it was a classic Tiger moment .”
Bernhard Langer was inside the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse , having lunch and watching the moment on TV . He still remembers hearing the roars . And he - along with the other players in the field that weekremain impressed by the result two decades later .
“ You could put Tiger Woods there 20 times , make that same putt and probably not come
20 GolfPlus MARCH 2021 close to making another one ,” said Langer , who finished solo third that week . “ That ’ s special , that much break and the speed . I mean , most guys would be just thrilled to get within 4 feet . He made it .”
“ It started off and goes right , then it went left , and then it went right severely at the end ,” added another competitor , Colin Montgomerie . “ It was just about to miss but it just hung on . If it had missed , of course , I ’ m not saying off the green at the front but it was in the fringe because there ’ s nothing to stop it apart from the hole . But that ’ s Tiger . That was him , 20 years ago .”
“ Everybody missed it down the right bottom ,” recalled Ernie Els . “ Tiger being Tiger , he gets it right most of the time . He showed us up yet again .”
Unlike most of his career-defining shots that came in the final round , Woods was not wearing a red shirt . Remember , this was the third round on Saturday , so Woods wore a white shirt with thin vertical black stripes . The birdie putt only moved him closer to tournament leader Jerry Kelly . Tiger eventually shot 66 that day , leaving him two strokes behind Kelly going into the final round . He followed with a closing 67 to beat Vijay Singh by one stroke in a Monday finish due to poor weather .
“ It wasn ’ t for the win of the tournament necessarily ,” Woods said when asked where the putt ranked among his greatest . “ I think I was still behind Jerry Kelly at the time , and so it was on a Saturday afternoon , but it definitely gave me some momentum . As far as some of my greatest putts , it will be up there on the lag putts .”
Of course , Tiger didn ’ t hear Koch ’ s description live . Neither did Kelly , who was back on the 16th hole . He had seen where Tiger ’ s tee shot had landed and wondered if Woods might drop a stroke with a threeputt . A few minutes later , he heard the roars . Instead of a shot lost , it was a shot gained .
He continues to hear the roars every time the highlight is shown .
“ Seen that way too many times ,” Kelly said with a smile . “ I need a better than most .”
Don ’ t we all . Asked if this was the best call he ’ s made in 40 years as a broadcaster , Koch replied : “ Absolutely , no question about it . I ’ ve had some others that I think have been pretty good , but they ’ re nowhere near that .”
Indeed , it goes down as being one of the greatest calls in golf , a moment when Tiger pulled off the impossible .
“ I remember Verne Lundquist when Jack [ Nicklaus ] made that putt [ in the 1986 Masters ]. And obviously Jim Nantz , the bear coming out of hibernation ,” Els said . “ There ’ s been great quotes , but Gary ’ s is one of the all-time classics .”