Posted by Jason Sobel
Jason Sobel's top nine shots of the year will be published Monday.
10. Tiger Woods
Peter Muhly/AFP/Getty Images
Richard Finch was soaked after falling into the water on his approach shot on No. 18 at the Irish Open. But although the Englishman couldn't hold on to stay out of the water, he managed to still win that week.
The situation: Arnold Palmer Invitational, final round, par-4 18th hole, third shot.
The shot: With wins in his first two PGA Tour events of the season -- three if you count the Euro Tour's Dubai Desert Classic -- Woods' perfect start was in doubt as he came to the final green at Bay Hill. Faced with a slippery birdie effort that could even lead to a three-putt if he wasn't careful, Tiger made it one for the thumb at Arnie's place. The 24-foot putt fell, giving him a fifth career win at the tourney. Eschewing his usual fist-pump celebration, Woods punctuated the putt by spiking his hat onto the green -- whether he knew it or not.
Woods' take: "I was just trying to make sure I got the speed right. Now, that green has a little bit more grass on it, and the grain has a little bit more effect on it, and I gave it just a little bit more. I hit the putt down there, and it took forever to start breaking and for the grain to start taking it; but once it started taking it, it went straight right and went in the hole. … You know, when [caddie] Stevie [Williams] handed me my hat, I was like, 'How in the hell did he get my hat?' Evidently, it came off. I don't know how it came off, but it came off."
11. Lorena Ochoa
The situation: Kraft Nabisco Championship, final round, par-4 10th hole, third shot.
The shot: Attempting to select the best shot from a seven-time winner and reigning player of the year isn't easy, but you can't go wrong with her biggest birdie in her most important tournament victory. After posting four birdies on the front side at Mission Hills, Ochoa twisted the dagger by draining a 40-foot birdie putt -- part of a bogey-free 67 that led to a 5-stroke win for her second career major title.
Ochoa's take: "I made that birdie on No. 9, and after getting to 12-under, [caddie] Dave [Brooker] came to me and said, 'We have nine holes to go, and just try and concentrate 100 percent more than ever, keep your head down. A lot of people are going to say things to you and saying Spanish or being funny or shouting your name, so just try to focus on what we're doing.' That's what we did."
The Best Shots Of 2008
Tiger Woods owns two of 2008's most amazing shots. Same goes for back-to-back major winner Padraig Harrington. But who took home the top spot on this year's list?
Jason Sobel, Nos. 1-9
12. Hanks and Davis Massey
The situation: Practice round, TPC at Sawgrass, par-3 third hole, tee shots.
The shots: Truth be told, any of the thousands upon thousands of holes-in-one (that's right, it's not "hole-in-ones") posted this year could have made this list, but we opted for brothers Hanks, 11, and Davis, 9, who completed the feat on back-to-back shots in the twilight of July 10. From 108 yards with the pin cut back left, Hanks used a 9-iron to make his ace. Once the celebrating had died down, it was little bro's turn, as he pulled an 8-iron for the exact same result. What are the odds? According to one study, the chance of playing partners each making a hole-in-one on the same hole is estimated at 17 million-to-1.
Hanks Massey's take: "My dad [Scott] and I dropped everything we had, and we ran up to the green and there it is, sitting in the hole. We started hugging and taking a lot of pictures and calling a lot of people, and then we realized that my little brother has not hit yet."
Davis Massey's take: "I knew I wasn't going to get a hole-in-one because it's like a one-in-1 billion chance. … I took a good swing, and then all of a sudden it dropped. My dad started going crazy. … I ran up there, and it was in the hole, and I was really excited."
13. Candie Kung
The situation: Hana Bank-Kolon Championship, final round, par-5 ninth hole, third shot.
The shot: During her second shot on the 545-yard hole, Kung pulled her left hamstring while hitting a 5-wood layup attempt out of the rough. Gingerly making her way to the ball, which was lying 76 yards from the pin, she promptly stepped up and drained the lob wedge shot for eagle. It made all the difference as Kung went on to win her fourth career LPGA title by a single stroke.
Kung's take: "I just said, 'We have nine more holes left.' The physio came out to look at it, you know, just asking for some stretches to get me through the nine holes, and I took some Advil. … Sometimes when I'm in contention, I'll be too focused into the game, and that kind of goes the other way for me for my game. But it kind of helped a little bit."
14. Richard Finch
The situation: Irish Open, final round, par-5 18th hole, third shot.
The shot: If Woody Austin's "Aquaman" moment was golf's YouTube clip of the year in 2007, then Finch decidedly replicated the feat in '08. Clinging to a 3-shot lead on the final hole, he found his second shot lying on the bank of the River Maigue. Figuring he had enough room to play the shot, Finch took a mighty swing ... and fell down the bank and into the river. The shot? Well, that stayed dry, thankfully, as Finch somehow reached the green and later three-putted for the victory.
Finch's take: "When I was walking down there, I had a little feeling that I might have just sort of hit it too hard with my second shot," Finch said. "But when I got there, I thought, 'Well, it looks fine, I've got room to swing and I can get my stance,' and I never really gave falling in a thought, to be honest. … As I hit the shot, I knew straight away I had sort of made decent contact. I don't know whether I slipped or went 'round with momentum. And then the next thing I sort of just was gradually falling down the bank, which it was a case of, well, I kept trying to follow the ball, but obviously then I looked up and saw it on the green, and I was sort in a bit of shock of, thinking, 'My god, what have I done?'"
15. Yani Tseng
The situation: McDonald's LPGA Championship, final round, par-4 18th hole (fourth playoff hole), second shot.
The shot: Having already survived a final-round pairing with No. 1-ranked Lorena Ochoa during which she shot a 4-under 68, Tseng remained deadlocked with Maria Hjorth for the first three holes of their sudden-death playoff. On the fourth extra hole, playing Bulle Rock's 18th for the third time in an hour, Tseng pured a 6-iron to 6 feet. From there, the 19-year-old converted for birdie and the victory, becoming the second-youngest major champion and the first rookie to win one since Se Ri Pak did it 10 years earlier.
Tseng's take: "I wasn't that nervous when I teed off, you know. I just tell myself, 'Just make this putt and win a major championship.'"
16. Vijay Singh
The situation: Deutsche Bank Championship, final round, par-4 14th hole, third shot.
The shot: If there's been one shortcoming in Singh's game throughout the years, it's been the flat stick. He has never looked better with a putter in his hands than during the back nine at TPC Boston, though. Sandwiched by a pair of 35-footers, the big Fijian drained a 60-foot bomb as part of a final-round 63 that clinched his third win in five weeks and essentially locked up the FedEx Cup title.
Singh's take: "I got on the green and just kept talking to my caddie [Chad Reynolds], 'I'm the best putter in the world,' and he said, 'You're damn right you are. Now go ahead and knock it in,' and I made it. That's just a good attitude. Instead of standing there and hoping you're going to get up-and-down in two, I was trying to make those putts."
Hunter Martin/Getty Images
Paula Creamer's 11-under-par 60 at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic might have been the most spectacular round of the year. The Pink Panther birdied nine of her last 11 holes to miss the magical 59 by a shot.
Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic, first round, par-4 ninth hole (her 18th of the round), third shot.
The shot: It wasn't this shot so much as what it culminated that we are celebrating on this list. Perhaps the most impressive round of golf on any professional level this year came from Creamer, who, starting on the course's back nine, shot 33-27 for an 11-under 60 that included birdies on nine of her final 11 holes. The last of those was the Pink Panther's fifth putt of 10 feet or longer, as she sank a 20-footer and never looked back en route to a 2-stroke victory three days later.
Creamer's take: "The hardest part of the day was the last hole. That was the biggest break of the putts that I had all day long. … I played about four and a half, five feet of break on that hole, and it went in."
18. Craig Barlow
The situation: Buick Open, final round, par-5 first hole, third shot.
The shot: This wasn't exactly a banner season for PGA Tour vet Craig Barlow, who made the cut in only six of 15 appearances. At Warwick Hills, he shot a largely ignored final round of even-par 70 that led to a T-32 result, memorable only for what happened on the first green. It was there that Barlow drained a putt from 111 feet, 5 inches -- more than 27 feet longer than any other holed putt during the season. Ironically, Barlow finished the season ranked 197th in putting average -- dead last on tour. Even more ironic is that the longest putt of the year wasn't even a putt. We'll let Barlow explain.
Barlow's take: "The ball was on the green, but I chipped it, so it goes down as a putt in the stats. I used a sand wedge to chip it over the collar of the green, and I almost forgot to ask my caddie to tend the pin because I was so far away. The pin was way back in the corner and I was on front of green -- the ball went in at perfect speed like I was making a 3-footer even though the first 30 feet of the 'putt' was in the air to carry the collar. … I don't remember many shots I hit, but this one stood out because of the circumstances. Unbelievable that I made it. It went into the hole perfectly, couldn't have went in any better. I was laughing and was embarrassed because I couldn't believe it actually went in."
Jason Sobel is a golf writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at Jason.Sobel@espn3.com.
