That he took the money? If anything Rory's sanctimony about LIV is annoying. C'mon these guys are paid ridiculous amount of money to ... play a game. They aren't curing cancer. They aren't fighting for their country. They aren't even collecting garbage. There's nothing sacred about the PGA tour or any of their "traditions". And this sanctimony from a guy with a toddler aged child who can't keep it in his pants--has to go bone the sports reporter floozy--and files for divorce. (Yeah, I know he pulled it back.)
Gene Sarazen’s double-eagle second shot on 15 on the way to winning the 1935 Masters is the most famous golf shot and shares with Bobby Thompson’s home run against the Dodgers to win the 1951 NL pennant the appellation “The Shot Heard Round the World” (with apologies to the Minutemen of Concord and Lexington).
Ben Hogan’s 1-iron on the 18th to force a playoff and then win the 1950 US Open, coming back from a near fatal head on collision with a bus, is probably the second most famous golf shot (while perhaps claiming the most famous golf photo).
I don’t think there is any video. There was what Gene referred to as a “gallery of one,” a sports writer from the New York Telegram. Here’s a link to a video that includes a reenactment and discussion by Sarazen:
I watched that final round in 1986 my senior year in College. It started out pretty ho hum but then Jack birdied 9, 10 and 11. The birdie putt at 10 had to be at least 40 feet. I really had the tournament on in the background, but when I heard the crowd reaction at 10, I went to the TV and stayed glued to the end. He played Amen Corner in one under, then that eagle at 15 was absolutely electric, along with sticking his tee shot on the 16th to within 4 feet after almost holing it out (as you said, it would have been THE most famous shot in golf history if he had done that). But the crowd really erupted with the birdie putt at 17. Making it really special is listening to the commentary of Ken Venturi, Vern Lundquist and Tom Weiskopf; I really miss those guys on the microphone.
On paper and from a dramatic sports narrative perspective, today should be one of the great match-ups in history. However, the percentages say one or both will fizzle out. Some great golfers just down the leaderboard have a great shot if that happens. I like DeChambeau's enthusiasm and spirit, but he will need to grow out of that and adjust his game when the inevitable physical deterioration sets in, if he wants to have a long career. Rory's experience and ability to zone out peripheral distractions should give him the edge.
> Making it really special is listening to the commentary of Ken Venturi, Vern Lundquist and Tom Weiskopf
That year Lundquist called 17; it was Ben Wright who called Jack's eagle on 15. Pat Summerall and Venturi called Norman's bogey on 18 that clinched the win for Jack. Remember that Jack entered the day tied for 9th so much like Justin Rose today he had to wait in the clubhouse to await his fate; it turned out to be a 33-minute wait on the rebroadcast* but I'm sure it was longer in real time. Recall that Norman never won an American major although he won the British twice.
I couldn't recall Ben Wright's name, but yes, he was quite entertaining as well. I always recalled him as the gent with the vaguely English accent, who would sometimes use the word "ticklish" for a short putt that was not a gimme. One of the first victims of proto-cancel culture ('90s 'Me Too") when he said some impolitic things about lady golfers and was summarily let go by CBS in 1996.
Yes, I really couldn't pick one of the modern top golfers out of a lineup. Meanwhile Chi-Chi was so distinctive looking that Devo used him for an album cover! Sadly his best finish at the Masters was 1973 when he finished 10th, 8 shots back of winner Tommy Aaron, no relation to Henry. He also finished 6th at the 1981 US Open at Merion, 7 shots back of winner David Graham, who is coincidentally Australian
The Masters, with its' $20,000 tickets, "patrons" instead of spectators, and nocturnal groundskeepers gluing the azalea blossoms back in place is approaching "peak smugness" for me, yet I will be glued to my TV all afternoon. (I might have made up the glued azalea blossoms, but they might do it next year.)
Where do you buy $20k tickets? People who are caught scalping are banned for life. There was a story this year about a guy who had tickets through the lottery and someone went to the trouble of making a fake Facebook profile to fraudulently sell them. Augusta still banned him. Unless there is some special tier I have not heard of, tickets are reasonably priced as are the concessions.
I'm glad AGNC owns the broadcast rights to their tournament. I can watch coverage for free on their masters.com website or through the app. I like that I don't have to pay for an app I would only use once a year (like Paramount or Peacock)
The website coverage commercials are clearly oriented to geezers like Steve and I; they have '70's rock bands for the commercials' background music, lol (Three Dog Night, Supertramp, Buffalo Springfield)
Well, Steve, you're again proving my point that you really should consider your next book to be a golf-themed one. The numerous articles you've written about the sport over the decades, if properly fleshed out, would make an amazing tome, say, a coffee-table sized with plenty of b/w & color photos ranging from the late 1800's, all the way up to present day.
Speaking of the Golden Bear and his still standing PGA record of Majors (with 18), apparently Eldrick declined to play in the Masters, he skipped it. In December, Eldrick will turn 50.
TICK TICK TICK
Now, one could plausibly state that Phil Mickelson won the PGA at age 50 in 2021, Julius Boros at age 48 in 1968, and of course Jack Nicklaus at age 46 in 1986.
But age 50 appears to be the oldest, the cutoff of possiblity for PGAers to win a Major Tournament. So Eldrick better hurry if he hopes to surpass Nicklaus' record of Majors, plus at 15 Majors, Eldrick needs to win 3 more Majors to tie Jack, and 4 more Majors to set the all time record.
All during the decade of his 50's which no PGAer has ever done before (no PGAer has ever won more than a single Major tournament in their 50's).
Tiger is VERY beat up. He should give up tournament golf NOW so he can still give pricey golf seminars and lessons to multi-millionaires and play golf with everyone at his son's wedding.
It occurs to me that lifelong fluid swingers like Vijay Singh and Fred Couples will get the last laugh. Tiger will barely be able to get out of a cart by age 60.
The point remains. For the most part, golf is a sport that men can play reasonably well into their 70's and 80's. Bob Hope was in his 90's.
Steve at one point some years ago speculated that Tiger may have taken PEDS, which can also break down your body if taken in extreme amounts. Obviously it also depends upon the individual.
Traditionally, golf has never been a sport where one needs to work out with weights. Look at John Daly.
It will be people the likes of John Daly and others who will have the last laugh, those who are playing reasonably well on the Senior Circuit well into their 70's, and continuing to play for pleasure into their 80's, while Eldrick will not.
AND...he didn't even break Nicklaus's all time record for most Majors wins.
I read an interview with Greg Norman I think about 15 years ago and he mentioned that Tiger's swing was just way too over the top and athletic for him to have a run at Nicklaus's record.
Greg Norman's observation is equally applicable to Rory and Bryson. I don't think Jack's majors record is in any danger from those two either. Even Scottie Scheffler (best of the current field to have a chance at Jack, and my odds on favorite to get the next career slam) has a high torque swing that will wear him down quicker over the next decade.
"It will be people the likes of John Daly and others who will have the last laugh, those who are playing reasonably well on the Senior Circuit well into their 70's, and continuing to play for pleasure into their 80's, while Eldrick will not."
Bernhard Langer, Fred Couples, Ernie Els. Bernhard just played in his last Master's and didn't make the cut. Fred C. shot decently in Round 1 but age caught up in round 2 and he didn't make the cut. In my view, Feddie has the purest swing I've seen in the last 40 years.
They don't tee off until 2:30, which means 60 Minutes will be delayed in most of the country (but still seen in its entirety, as Susie Wiles' father told us for many years). On tonight's broadcast...
• Scott Pelley interviews Volodymyr Zelenskyy
• Jon Wertheim visits Greenland
• Lesley Stahl reports on the Savannah Bananas
As an aside, when I went to look this up on Twitter, I found that 60 Minutes has not updated their feed since February 19; I had to use Bluesky to find all this out
As the Jim Cramer of golf, I jinxed him, as he just missed the putt to win. He and Justin Rose are going to a playoff. Both have each finished second at least once
For those who aren't golf fans, the Masters is an invitational; all former champions are invited but since neither McIlroy nor Rose had won before, they had to qualify by other means. Rory won the 2025 TPC and Justin finished second at the 2024 British Open. Patrick Reed, who came in third, had previously won the 2018 Masters
As I noted upthread, either or both McIlroy or DeChambeau would fizzle out, and I leaned toward DeChambeau being the fizzler, as indeed, happened. His game is too erratic; he tries for the home run every time when he should be more strategic. Good for Rory and golf. At one point after the 13th hole, I thought both would fade but Rory waved it off and made some spectacular clutch shots when he needed them the most.
Lee Trevino's lighting strike happened during the Western Open at Butler National in Oakbrook, IL in (I've now confirmed) 1975. He was taken to the hospital one town over in Hinsdale, where I was busy growing up and playing little league baseball at ten years old. I'd been to the Hinsdale Sanitarium--"the San" as it was known--I think the week before for what turned out to be an ankle sprain and remember feeling sort of almost touched by greatness when I learned of Trevino's hospital visit there. Other similar phenomena for me at the time included the fact that Bill Veeck was a Hinsdale resident, and that Morris the Cat was adopted from the Hinsdale Humane Society.
Obviously, golf tournaments do get won fairly often with mediocre final rounds, but that was a pretty lame ugly round for McIlroy to win this thing--hardly "champion" more like limping across the line--and on a day where a whole bunch of other golfers shot pretty darn good rounds, but were just--barely--too far back. And especially as this was the supposed to be the long awaited jewel in the crown for McIlroy. His finish a few years ago--maybe 2022--with the chip in on 18 to apply a little pressure to Scheffler would have made a much better championship story. Heck, Bryson's finishing run yesterday to secure the final grouping, was much more worthy. At least, the do-over playoff hole was decent.
I will admit it kept my attention though. I was about ready to quit on it around 5pm and ask AnotherMom if she wanted a beach walk--even though a few hours past our usual low tide target--but then continued to work on my taxes for a bit longer, and sure enough Rory f'd it up again with a ridiculously bad shot.
It was certainly a dramatic Masters, but usually the greatest Masters are won by final rounds in the 60s rather than a 73. Then again, McIlroy's giant hook from behind the tree on 15 might be the greatest shot since Bubba Watson's giant slice on 10 to win the Masters.
I will not eat the bugs
I will not live in a pod
I will not root for that Barstool Spaz Bryson
Go Rory!
What's your problem with Bryson.
That he took the money? If anything Rory's sanctimony about LIV is annoying. C'mon these guys are paid ridiculous amount of money to ... play a game. They aren't curing cancer. They aren't fighting for their country. They aren't even collecting garbage. There's nothing sacred about the PGA tour or any of their "traditions". And this sanctimony from a guy with a toddler aged child who can't keep it in his pants--has to go bone the sports reporter floozy--and files for divorce. (Yeah, I know he pulled it back.)
https://t.co/npc83b8YTb
My thoughts
Gene Sarazen’s double-eagle second shot on 15 on the way to winning the 1935 Masters is the most famous golf shot and shares with Bobby Thompson’s home run against the Dodgers to win the 1951 NL pennant the appellation “The Shot Heard Round the World” (with apologies to the Minutemen of Concord and Lexington).
Ben Hogan’s 1-iron on the 18th to force a playoff and then win the 1950 US Open, coming back from a near fatal head on collision with a bus, is probably the second most famous golf shot (while perhaps claiming the most famous golf photo).
Do you have video?
I don’t think there is any video. There was what Gene referred to as a “gallery of one,” a sports writer from the New York Telegram. Here’s a link to a video that includes a reenactment and discussion by Sarazen:
https://youtu.be/t2kDdTDM2kg?feature=shared
Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen witnessed Sarazen's double eagle.
Tom Weiskopf wasn't blonde, or he wasn't as blonde as Nicklaus and Miller. I'd say he was sandy brown.
I watched that final round in 1986 my senior year in College. It started out pretty ho hum but then Jack birdied 9, 10 and 11. The birdie putt at 10 had to be at least 40 feet. I really had the tournament on in the background, but when I heard the crowd reaction at 10, I went to the TV and stayed glued to the end. He played Amen Corner in one under, then that eagle at 15 was absolutely electric, along with sticking his tee shot on the 16th to within 4 feet after almost holing it out (as you said, it would have been THE most famous shot in golf history if he had done that). But the crowd really erupted with the birdie putt at 17. Making it really special is listening to the commentary of Ken Venturi, Vern Lundquist and Tom Weiskopf; I really miss those guys on the microphone.
On paper and from a dramatic sports narrative perspective, today should be one of the great match-ups in history. However, the percentages say one or both will fizzle out. Some great golfers just down the leaderboard have a great shot if that happens. I like DeChambeau's enthusiasm and spirit, but he will need to grow out of that and adjust his game when the inevitable physical deterioration sets in, if he wants to have a long career. Rory's experience and ability to zone out peripheral distractions should give him the edge.
> Making it really special is listening to the commentary of Ken Venturi, Vern Lundquist and Tom Weiskopf
That year Lundquist called 17; it was Ben Wright who called Jack's eagle on 15. Pat Summerall and Venturi called Norman's bogey on 18 that clinched the win for Jack. Remember that Jack entered the day tied for 9th so much like Justin Rose today he had to wait in the clubhouse to await his fate; it turned out to be a 33-minute wait on the rebroadcast* but I'm sure it was longer in real time. Recall that Norman never won an American major although he won the British twice.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbsVaBDRtBI if you have three hours to kill
I couldn't recall Ben Wright's name, but yes, he was quite entertaining as well. I always recalled him as the gent with the vaguely English accent, who would sometimes use the word "ticklish" for a short putt that was not a gimme. One of the first victims of proto-cancel culture ('90s 'Me Too") when he said some impolitic things about lady golfers and was summarily let go by CBS in 1996.
I don't follow golf much but aside from Rory the top golfers all seem to look the same
Yes, I really couldn't pick one of the modern top golfers out of a lineup. Meanwhile Chi-Chi was so distinctive looking that Devo used him for an album cover! Sadly his best finish at the Masters was 1973 when he finished 10th, 8 shots back of winner Tommy Aaron, no relation to Henry. He also finished 6th at the 1981 US Open at Merion, 7 shots back of winner David Graham, who is coincidentally Australian
The Masters, with its' $20,000 tickets, "patrons" instead of spectators, and nocturnal groundskeepers gluing the azalea blossoms back in place is approaching "peak smugness" for me, yet I will be glued to my TV all afternoon. (I might have made up the glued azalea blossoms, but they might do it next year.)
Where do you buy $20k tickets? People who are caught scalping are banned for life. There was a story this year about a guy who had tickets through the lottery and someone went to the trouble of making a fake Facebook profile to fraudulently sell them. Augusta still banned him. Unless there is some special tier I have not heard of, tickets are reasonably priced as are the concessions.
You just can't get a Masters' ticket.
You couldn’t invent the drama of this final round Go Winner!
It was very entertaining, but it wasn't great golf, except perhaps Rose who shot a 66 to earn a playoff with McIlroy.
True, I wrote after the third round and then as often happens at the Masters, one of the challengers collapsed and another, Rose, shot lights out.
Additional observations:
I'm glad AGNC owns the broadcast rights to their tournament. I can watch coverage for free on their masters.com website or through the app. I like that I don't have to pay for an app I would only use once a year (like Paramount or Peacock)
The website coverage commercials are clearly oriented to geezers like Steve and I; they have '70's rock bands for the commercials' background music, lol (Three Dog Night, Supertramp, Buffalo Springfield)
Supertramp didn't hit until 1977 when Three Dog Night and Buffalo Springfield were already well done
Well, Steve, you're again proving my point that you really should consider your next book to be a golf-themed one. The numerous articles you've written about the sport over the decades, if properly fleshed out, would make an amazing tome, say, a coffee-table sized with plenty of b/w & color photos ranging from the late 1800's, all the way up to present day.
Speaking of the Golden Bear and his still standing PGA record of Majors (with 18), apparently Eldrick declined to play in the Masters, he skipped it. In December, Eldrick will turn 50.
TICK TICK TICK
Now, one could plausibly state that Phil Mickelson won the PGA at age 50 in 2021, Julius Boros at age 48 in 1968, and of course Jack Nicklaus at age 46 in 1986.
But age 50 appears to be the oldest, the cutoff of possiblity for PGAers to win a Major Tournament. So Eldrick better hurry if he hopes to surpass Nicklaus' record of Majors, plus at 15 Majors, Eldrick needs to win 3 more Majors to tie Jack, and 4 more Majors to set the all time record.
All during the decade of his 50's which no PGAer has ever done before (no PGAer has ever won more than a single Major tournament in their 50's).
TICK TICK TICK
Tiger is VERY beat up. He should give up tournament golf NOW so he can still give pricey golf seminars and lessons to multi-millionaires and play golf with everyone at his son's wedding.
It occurs to me that lifelong fluid swingers like Vijay Singh and Fred Couples will get the last laugh. Tiger will barely be able to get out of a cart by age 60.
Arnold Palmer played on the Senior Tour until his late 70's. At 90, Bob Hope could still play a couple rounds of golf.
They didn't have Tiger's major surgeries and go-for-broke swing.
Last time I saw Tiger on TV was last year's Masters. He looked like he hurt from head to toe.
The point remains. For the most part, golf is a sport that men can play reasonably well into their 70's and 80's. Bob Hope was in his 90's.
Steve at one point some years ago speculated that Tiger may have taken PEDS, which can also break down your body if taken in extreme amounts. Obviously it also depends upon the individual.
Traditionally, golf has never been a sport where one needs to work out with weights. Look at John Daly.
It will be people the likes of John Daly and others who will have the last laugh, those who are playing reasonably well on the Senior Circuit well into their 70's, and continuing to play for pleasure into their 80's, while Eldrick will not.
AND...he didn't even break Nicklaus's all time record for most Majors wins.
I read an interview with Greg Norman I think about 15 years ago and he mentioned that Tiger's swing was just way too over the top and athletic for him to have a run at Nicklaus's record.
And now it looks as if he won't pass Jack.
Perhaps during his 20's Eldrick thought he'd slip under the radar by winning tons of Majors and get the record before he reached 40.
Greg Norman's observation is equally applicable to Rory and Bryson. I don't think Jack's majors record is in any danger from those two either. Even Scottie Scheffler (best of the current field to have a chance at Jack, and my odds on favorite to get the next career slam) has a high torque swing that will wear him down quicker over the next decade.
"It will be people the likes of John Daly and others who will have the last laugh, those who are playing reasonably well on the Senior Circuit well into their 70's, and continuing to play for pleasure into their 80's, while Eldrick will not."
Bernhard Langer, Fred Couples, Ernie Els. Bernhard just played in his last Master's and didn't make the cut. Fred C. shot decently in Round 1 but age caught up in round 2 and he didn't make the cut. In my view, Feddie has the purest swing I've seen in the last 40 years.
> But it turned out that Buckeyes John Havlicek and Jerry Lucas were a whole lot better at basketball than Jack was
As was one Robert M. Knight, who never played professionally but later joined the Army and went into coaching
They don't tee off until 2:30, which means 60 Minutes will be delayed in most of the country (but still seen in its entirety, as Susie Wiles' father told us for many years). On tonight's broadcast...
• Scott Pelley interviews Volodymyr Zelenskyy
• Jon Wertheim visits Greenland
• Lesley Stahl reports on the Savannah Bananas
As an aside, when I went to look this up on Twitter, I found that 60 Minutes has not updated their feed since February 19; I had to use Bluesky to find all this out
Bob Knight was a reserve on that 1960 Ohio State national championship team
If Rory can hold on, he will win the career Grand Slam, a feat that is rarer than I had previously realized
As the Jim Cramer of golf, I jinxed him, as he just missed the putt to win. He and Justin Rose are going to a playoff. Both have each finished second at least once
McIlroy has his masterpiece
--Jim Nantz, 7:16 p.m. after hole 73
For those who aren't golf fans, the Masters is an invitational; all former champions are invited but since neither McIlroy nor Rose had won before, they had to qualify by other means. Rory won the 2025 TPC and Justin finished second at the 2024 British Open. Patrick Reed, who came in third, had previously won the 2018 Masters
As I noted upthread, either or both McIlroy or DeChambeau would fizzle out, and I leaned toward DeChambeau being the fizzler, as indeed, happened. His game is too erratic; he tries for the home run every time when he should be more strategic. Good for Rory and golf. At one point after the 13th hole, I thought both would fade but Rory waved it off and made some spectacular clutch shots when he needed them the most.
Lee Trevino's lighting strike happened during the Western Open at Butler National in Oakbrook, IL in (I've now confirmed) 1975. He was taken to the hospital one town over in Hinsdale, where I was busy growing up and playing little league baseball at ten years old. I'd been to the Hinsdale Sanitarium--"the San" as it was known--I think the week before for what turned out to be an ankle sprain and remember feeling sort of almost touched by greatness when I learned of Trevino's hospital visit there. Other similar phenomena for me at the time included the fact that Bill Veeck was a Hinsdale resident, and that Morris the Cat was adopted from the Hinsdale Humane Society.
Obviously, golf tournaments do get won fairly often with mediocre final rounds, but that was a pretty lame ugly round for McIlroy to win this thing--hardly "champion" more like limping across the line--and on a day where a whole bunch of other golfers shot pretty darn good rounds, but were just--barely--too far back. And especially as this was the supposed to be the long awaited jewel in the crown for McIlroy. His finish a few years ago--maybe 2022--with the chip in on 18 to apply a little pressure to Scheffler would have made a much better championship story. Heck, Bryson's finishing run yesterday to secure the final grouping, was much more worthy. At least, the do-over playoff hole was decent.
I will admit it kept my attention though. I was about ready to quit on it around 5pm and ask AnotherMom if she wanted a beach walk--even though a few hours past our usual low tide target--but then continued to work on my taxes for a bit longer, and sure enough Rory f'd it up again with a ridiculously bad shot.
It was certainly a dramatic Masters, but usually the greatest Masters are won by final rounds in the 60s rather than a 73. Then again, McIlroy's giant hook from behind the tree on 15 might be the greatest shot since Bubba Watson's giant slice on 10 to win the Masters.