The shot remains one of the most iconic in golf history, replayed over and over again, now 20 years on from that moment during the final round of the 2005 Masters when, somehow, Tiger Woods got an impossible chip shot to drop on the 16th hole at Augusta National.
The crowd, understandably, went crazy and CBS’s Verne Lundquist—who Woods paid tribute to last year in the final year at the Masters for the broadcaster—left a lasting impression with his “in your life have you ever seen anything like that?” call as the ball teetered on the edge of the cup before dropping.
That led to ... a celebration?
Who knows how to react in the heat of such a moment like that, but Woods and his longtime caddie, Steve Williams, were understandably euphoric.
And then they looked like they might trip over each other trying to celebrate with an awkward attempt at high fives.
During a recent phone interview from his home in New Zealand, Williams chuckled at the memory.
“That was on me,” he said, laughing. “That was the worst high five ever. I was so excited, so much adrenaline, so much excitement in that moment. The arms and legs were going. And the arms weren’t working right.”
The details remain clear in Williams’s mind.
Woods was leading Chris DiMarco by a stroke heading to the par-3 hole on the final day when the golfer hooked his 8-iron shot over and to the left of the green.
DiMarco was safely on the green with an uphill 15-foot birdie putt. A two-shot swing was possible and at the very least a tie going to the final two holes seemed inevitable. CBS’s Lanny Wadkins, working alongside lead broadcaster Jim Nantz, gave Woods little chance to get the ball close.
And that was more than understandable, given the location of the ball and the situation.
“From the time we walked off the tee there, I was walking quite a big number of paces ahead of Tiger,” Williams said. “I had no idea what was over there and I was somewhat embarrassed I hadn’t checked it out. I had never seen anybody on a Sunday hit it to that pin that far left.
“The most amazing thing about the shot he played there was when he had a look at the green, he asked if I saw a pitch mark. He had a place where he wanted to land it and he didn’t want it to go too far up the hill. But it was hard to judge how it was going to come out.
“Incredibly he landed the ball right on the pitch mark. It was kind of freakish really. I think he could stand there with 10,000 balls and never do that. It was such a pressure shot. Quite the moment.”
Woods landed the ball where he wanted and then, with Williams, watched it trickle ever-so-slowly toward the hole, the Nike logo on the ball almost pausing on the lip for dramatic effect before dropping in for a birdie.
He’s been asked about it often over the years.
“I hit a snap-hook 8-iron,” Woods said. “I was hoping it would clear the water first of all and when I saw it land I was like ‘O.K., that’s one of the worst shots you could possibly hit’, and I had a one-shot lead at the time.
“Did I think I could hole it? Absolutely not. I wasn’t thinking that. I was trying to get the ball right in this little light where the trees were coming down and I knew if I could get it on there, then I could inside Chris’s ball. And I did.”
The idea was to give himself a reasonable look at a par putt. The fact that it went in was an amazing bonus.
And then DiMarco missed his birdie putt. Instead of Woods being tied—or even trailing—he headed to the 17th tee with a two-shot advantage.
That didn’t last long. Perhaps Woods struggled to come down after the remarkable chip-in as he bogeyed the last two holes and nearly was defeated as DiMarco barely missed a chip-in chance on 18 that would have won him the tournament.
Woods then prevailed in the first hole of sudden death when he birdied the 18th hole. It was his fourth Masters victory and 10th major title overall.
“Got a great break on 16, didn't go in the bunker, didn't go in the rough and somehow an earthquake happened and it fell in the hole,” Woods said that day.
“Then to play as poorly as I did on 17, 18, to have a chance to go in a playoff and hit two of the best golf shots I hit all week was pretty sweet.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Tiger Woods’s Iconic 2005 Masters Chip Lives on, Alongside ‘the Worst High Five Ever’.
