Top Masters Moments of the Millennium

Top Masters Moments of the Millennium

James Caughlin James Caughlin

When you hear Jim Nantz say “A tradition unlike any other…” you know that it is time for The Masters.

Golf’s premiere event and the first major of the season takes place this weekend and we are in for four memorable rounds.

There have been many iconic moments on the Augusta National Course and we are going through the archives to pick the best of the best since the year 2000.

9: 2021 – Matsuyama Makes History

Returning to its traditional April time slot following the rescheduling of the 2020 Masters tournament, Japanese golfer Hideki Mastuyama made history at Augusta.

It was a far from spectacular opening 36 holes from the eventual winner, posting a 69 and 70 to sit three strokes off leader Justin Rose who posted an impressive 65 to start his tournament off with.

He won the tournament on the back of a spectacular Day 3 where he recorded a 65 of his own to rocket up the leaderboard and enter Day 4 four shots ahead of the chasing pack.

It was far from smooth sailing over the final 18 holes however with Matsuyama almost getting caught by Will Zalatoris however he managed to win by one shot.

Matsuyama became the first Japanese man to win a major and the first Asian-born Masters winner.

8: 2016 – Spieth’s Collapse

There is a certain element of schadenfreude to this entry as Spieth’s back nine was painful to watch.

Having led at the end of each of the first three rounds (along with all four rounds in 2015), the defending champion Spieth was in a great position to go back to back.

Instead he went bogey, bogey quadruple bogey to fall behind Englishman Danny Willet who wound up winning by three strokes.

7: 2012 – Trick Shots Galore

Day Four was looking pretty good for Louis Oosthuizen when he nailed an albatross (a two on a Par 5) on the second hole of the day.

At the end of the round however he was tied with one of the best names in golf, Bubba Watson who had the American crowd right behind him.

Watson went for it on the second playoff hole playing a hooked wedge shot to get out of the trees and landed right near the hole to give himself two putts to claim the Masters title.

6: 2011 – Charl Schwartzel’s Wet Sail

If you are going to win The Masters you may as well do it with as strong of a finish as possible.

Four birdies on the final four holes by South African Charl Schwartzel gave him a final round 66 and brought him home with the wettest of sails to pip Jason Day and Adam Scott.

5: 2017 – Garcia Gets it Done

Once Phil Mickelson won his first Masters in 2004, the golf world found its new bunny in Sergio Garcia, another guy who was always close, but never close enough at the majors.

Of course it had to be done in a playoff, with Garcia rallying late to get back on level terms with Justin Rose to force the extra holes.

The Spaniard just needed one playoff hole to give him the breakthrough after 74 attempts.

4: 2004 – Finally Phil

So long to all the bridesmaid jokes, the aforementioned Mickelson finally broke through in dramatic circumstances overcoming an imposing target set by Ernie Els thanks to two final round eagles.

With the tournament seemingly set for a playoff, Phil sunk a 20 foot putt on the 18th to secure a win.

After overcoming the inevitable disbelief of finally breaking through, he really let loose.

3: 2005 – Tiger Does what Tiger Does

Even by the lofty standards of mid-2000’s Tiger this was pretty spectacular (but not his best moment at the tournament).

Chris DiMarco was closing in on him, so Tiger reached deep into his bag of tricks on the 16th hole and… well you can work out the rest.

That high five attempt with his caddie does knock him down a peg though.

2: 2019 – Tiger Still Has It

After a spate of injuries and issues in his personal life, many wondered if Woods was finished as a competitive golfer.

His last major tournament win came in 2008 at the US Open and he was an outsider heading into the 2019 Masters.

In his prior 10 majors, he had missed the cut five times but had shown signs of progress, finishing runner up at the 2018 PGA Championship.

At Augusta, Tiger started slowly, ending Day 1 four shots off the leaders, he rallied on Day 2 to wind up one off the leaders through 36 holes.

Day 3 saw him two strokes behind Francesco Molinari but wearing his trademark red shirt on Day 4, he produced a steady 70 to win one last major title.

It was his first title in 11 years and he got to enjoy the moment with his son.

1: 2013 – Adam Scott Wins it for Australia (and himself probably)

Ok we will cop to being just a bit biased on this one but what Aussie sports fan wasn’t glued to their TV’s that Monday morning when Scott held off Angel Cabrera in the playoff and claimed his first major.

Not to mention that created one of the best sports photos with Scott on the green, in the rain illuminated by the camera flashes.