Posted by Jason Sobel
There were more than 1,367,126 strokes taken during 46 PGA Tour stroke-play events in 2005. This year? Let's just say my mind wandered around the millionth shot and I lost count. But considering total scoring average was almost identical, let's just assume that number was pretty close for '06.
Add in similar figures from the LPGA, European, Champions and Nationwide tours, plus innumerable non-professional shots over the past 11-plus months and you can see how it might be tough to narrow it down to the best 18. Of course, for the second straight year, that's exactly what I did in my Weekly 18 column. It's one of my favorite pieces I write all season, because of the subjective nature of the whole thing.
Here are a few guidelines I use each year:
• The bigger the event, the better chance a shot has of making the list. Tiger Woods' 205-yard eagle at the British Open and Geoff Ogilvy's 71st hole chip-in at the U.S. Open were amazing considering the gravity of the situation -- not to mention the sublime approach shots of Karrie Webb and Se Ri Pak during crunch time at major championships -- but Woods and Phil Mickelson also get on for final-round defining shots at the year's other two majors. It's not a total hard-and-fast rule, but if you win one of the big four, there's a pretty good chance you'll see your name on this list.
• You cannot win if the ball doesn't go in. Face it: Aces and other eagle hole-outs may be lucky, but they're pretty damn exciting, too. If a player's shot goes in the hole, he's got a better chance of making the list than if, say, it stops just short of it. For example, Yusaku Miyazato took the 11th spot for a pair of holes-in-one during the same PGA Tour round; if each of those shots nestled only a few inches away, we'd never even know about 'em.
• Your name doesn't have to be Tiger or Phil. Sure, I'll give preferential treatment to the guys in the professional ranks, but I do try to save a spot for an amateur amongst the big names, too. This year's choice is Danny Leake, a 53-year-old 14-handicapper who made aces on consecutive days on the same hole using the same club. There may have been greater individual shots, but I didn't hear of any that could top these two.
Like I said, there's always room for debate in a topic like this, so shoot me an e-mail here and I'll post your disagreements later this week.
