Issue link: https://digital.insidegolfmedia.com/i/688260
THE PROS 1996 Greater milwaukee open. Tiger didn't win this tournament. And who thought he really would? It was his first event as a pro. However, con- sidering his shot on the 202-yard 14th hole was an ace, you can consider this the 20-year-old's official coming out announcement. ••• 1997 phoeniX open. Tiger delighted the always uproarious crowd at this raucous Tour event, scoring an ace on the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale. He was a few months away from his first major win, but this shot on the par 3, which took two hops and slipped into the cup, created a massive fan erup- tion. The first Year of the Tiger was now in full, and very loud, effect. ••• 2000 pGa championship. Always one to rise to the occasion, Woods' putt on the last hole in regulation at Valhalla to force a three-hole playoff may have only been a 6-footer, but it traversed a slinky, sliding surface. He nailed it and would go on to defeat the golfer that he often said he'd idol- ized growing up: Bob May. 2000 bell canadian open. One shot ahead of Grant Waite heading into the par-5 final hole, Woods didn't begin promisingly. He drove into a fairway bunker on the right side. Fac- ing a shot over trees and toward a tight pin placement near the water, he calmly hit a 213-yard 6 iron that sailed just over the flag on to the fringe. He two-putted for birdie and the victory. ••• 2001 players championship. This is the famous "better than most" putt, which announcer Gary Koch said when Woods first took the shot, and it didn't seem like it'd go in. The shot was on the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass, a 60-foot downhill triple breaker. It seemed to take forever to even get close to the cup, and then took an im- probable right hook to gently drop in- side. Look at any list of the greatest shots in Woods' career, and this one is up there. ••• 2002 pGa championship. Woods grabbed a 3 iron on the last hole at Hazeltine in the second round, and faced an impossible shot. His ball nes- tled into the far left side of a fairway bunker, he had to loft it over trees and onto a green some 210 yards away. He did it, landing 8 feet from the cup. This is considered one of the best major Golf events arrivinG in bunches t here are only four major golf champi- onships, but this summer another sig- nificant tournament will be played, which will force a logjam of sorts for both the British Open and the PGA Championship. Golf will be included in the Summer Olympics in Rio De Janeiro and the compe- tition is scheduled for Aug. 11-14. That is usually the time the PGA Championship is held, so in order to accommodate those golfers playing in the Olympics, the PGA Tour has moved up the PGA Champi- onship to late July, two weeks after the British Open. The Open will be played July 14-17 at Royal Troon Golf Club and the PGA will be played at Baltusrol Golf Club July 28-31. Two weeks later, the Olympic men's golf competition will be held at Olympic Golf Course. But the season's big events don't end there. The following month, the Ryder Cup will be played Sept. 30-Oct 2 at the Hazel- tine National Golf Club in Minnesota. C O N T I N U E D ›› A familiar sight: Tiger in red. mark your calendar