It’s fair to argue that The Masters has provided more thrilling final rounds than any other major throughout its history.
The old saying goes that The Masters does not truly begin until the back nine on Sunday at Augusta National.
Jack Nicklaus has won The Masters a record six times, while Tiger Woods has five victories at Augusta to his name.
The Masters will forever be intrinsically linked with some of the most memorable moments in the history of the game.
However, there have been just as many horror moments throughout the tournament’s history as there have been joyous ones.
And one incident which occurred way back in 2006 stands out as arguably the most nightmarish of them all.
Rocco Mediate was tied for the lead at the Masters before 12th hole disaster
Rocco Mediate won six times on the PGA Tour from 1991 all the way through to 2010.
He also racked up five PGA Tour Champions victories and has always been a hugely popular figure in the professional game due to his charismatic demeanor.
Do you think golfers should receive a free drop from divots in the fairway?
However, if you ask him whether he’d trade all of those victories for one major championship, he may well say yes.
Mediate had a great chance to win the Masters in 2006 heading into the back nine on Sunday before disaster struck on the 12th hole.
The problem for Mediate was that his back had begun to seize up and he was in real pain.
The now 62-year-old was tied for the lead after nine holes, and was just one stroke adrift of the lead standing on the 12th tee.
He then hit his tee shot into the water and then proceeded to do the same thing with his third and fifth shots.
His seventh shot found the back bunker before he blasted out and two-putted for a gut-wrenching 10!
Mediate went on to card a round of 80 and finished well down in 36th place and after he finished his round, he responded when asked about the pain he was suffering from in his back.
Interestingly, Tiger Woods also made a 10 at The Masters on the 12th hole in the final round 14 years after Mediate’s disaster.
“I wasn’t going to walk in,” Mediate said. “I did too much work to do that. It would have been easy for me to do that.”
“It was just one of those things. I almost had to quit. That was the best 71 holes of golf I’ve ever played.”
Phil Mickelson went on to win his second green jacket that week and the third major championship of his career at the time.
More heartache for Rocco Mediate just two years after the 2006 Masters
Mediate had another chance to win a major championship just two years after his Masters meltdown.
The American was in fine form at Torrey Pines as he gave himself a great chance to win the US Open in 2008.
Unfortunately for him, he ran into a superhuman Tiger Woods that week in San Diego, California.
Mediate went into the final round three shots adrift of Woods, but posted a final round 71 to force an 18-hole play-off with the great man.
Both players shot 71 in the playoff before Woods got the better of Mediate in sudden death.
Incredibly, Woods won the US Open while playing with a torn ACL and a double stress fracture of his tibia in his left knee.
Mediate put up a great fight at the US Open, but he lost out to one of the greatest performances ever witnessed in the history of sport.
He never did win a major in the end, but he enjoyed a fantastic career nonetheless.
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