It is PGA Championship time. Golf fans love this second major of the year, as it always provides high-caliber sporting excitement, the chance to place a PGA Championship bet, as well as an idea about how the top players are performing in the biggest tournaments.
There will no doubt be some incredible strokes and putting on display at the Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma this year. But here are five memorable moments from PGA Championship history.
Padraig Harrington’s Putt in 2008
No Irish man had won the PGA Championship before 2008 – and there has been no further celebration for the Emerald Isle since. But Padraig Hamilton achieved that feat 14 years ago and did it in incredible style, sinking an 18-foot putt on the final hole for extra effect.
It was a good year for Hamilton, who also won the 2008 Open Championship. But it was this competition that was the most dramatic. He managed to overcome a three-shot deficit on the Sunday to take the title. That long putt has now gone down in PGA Championship history.
Tiger Woods Era Ends in 2009
We will return to the brilliance of Tiger Woods in a moment. But, first, we remember when his dominance started to be challenged. By the time 2009 came around, Tiger Woods had won 14 majors in a row and there didn’t seem to be a chance that his winning streak would end anytime soon.
But up stepped Y.A. Yang. He really enjoyed that Sunday at the Hazeltine National. He was still two strokes behind Woods after 54 holes but then eagled the 14th. Suddenly the dynamic of the round changed. Yang was still only one up going into the final hole but birdied that to become the first Korean male to win a major.
John Daly Announces Himself to the World in 1991
John Daly is well known these days, sometimes for his hard-living more than his golf skills. But in 1991 he was still an unknown. So much so, that he was the ninth alternate for even a starting place at the PGA Championship. He only made it because Nick Price’s partner gave birth on the Thursday.
Daly had never seen the course and was unable to even enjoy the luxury of a practice round before teeing off on the first day. But he powered around the course to win one of his two titles, three strokes ahead of Bruce Lietzke. He was named the 1991 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.
Davis Love III and the Rainbow in 1997
Davis Love III had always been an excellent golfer but he had never managed to win a major. But all that changed in 1997 – and in incredibly emotional circumstances. His father – a much-loved golfer himself – had died in a plane crash in 1988 and Davis had continued in the family business.
But it was in 1997 that he showed just how good he was, blowing away the competition to win the PGA Championship at Winged Foot by five shots over runner-up Justin Leonard. But it was the final putt under a newly formed rainbow that made the memory perfect – a sign some said that his father was looking down on him.
Tiger Woods Determination in 2000
We couldn’t finish this look back at memorable PGA Championship moments without celebrating the talent of Tiger Woods. This golfing phenomenon was just hitting his prime in 2000 and showed just what he had when he went 18-under to force a playoff with Bob May.
The final round had been an epic battle between the two golfers. But it was the six-foot putt from Woods that made the playoff necessary and signaled how the day would end. Striding across the green and pointing to the hole as it made its way in, you just knew then that Tiger Woods was the greatest.