The ‘unbelievable’ shot which Tiger Woods hit in 2002 which he suggested was ‘the best’ he ever hit in his entire career

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Despite winning the event on four occasions, the PGA Championship has provided its fair share of disappointment for Tiger Woods over the years.

The 2009 PGA Championship marked the only time Tiger Woods failed to convert a 54-hole lead into a victory at a major as Y.E. Yang went on to shock him. Meanwhile, Bob May took Woods all the way to a playoff in the 2000 event – making it the most troublesome win of the Tiger Slam.

And there was another upset at the 2002 event, with Rich Beem beating Woods by one shot at Hazeltine – funnily enough, the same site in which Yang would claim victory seven years later.

Woods made birdie on his final four holes to get to nine under par and put the pressure on. But Beem never dropped below 10 under par after the 11th hole on Sunday.

The shot Tiger Woods described as the best of his career

Nevertheless, it appears that that event marks a significant moment in Woods’ career.

Of course, all golf fans probably have a favourite shot they have seen Woods hit. Meanwhile, the 49-year-old has no shortage of options to pick from when it comes to selecting the best shot he has ever produced.

And it seems that Woods would potentially opt for one shot he hit during the second round in Minnesota nearly 23 years ago.

Speaking on the 19th Uncut, Ernie Els’ long-time caddie Ricci Roberts shared how he was left blown away by Woods at that tournament – and how Woods himself would fail to hide his delight at one shot.

“We were paired with David Toms and Tiger. And we’d sort of played it back to front, the second round. We get a rain delay, we’re on the seventh hole, the eighth’s a par three. We’ve got to come back Saturday morning, 7am. It’s cold, it’s raining, miserable. Anyway, play the par three, get to the ninth, Toms can’t reach a fairway, Ernie bullets one, and Tiger pulls his tee shot left. And there were two bunkers on the left hand side. Toms hits three woods short of the green. I’ve got like 210 or something, Ernie’s like, ‘three iron’. I’m like, ‘no way mate, two iron all day’. It’s uphill, it’s cold. Anyway, bullets this two iron, hits it to about 20 feet, unbelievable shot,” he said.

“I’m looking left and Woods is in this bunker. He’s got his right heel up against the side, his left is up the face, the lip’s like this, and there’s a tree in front of him. I’m thinking, ‘what’s he doing?’ I looked at the yardage book, I’m thinking he’s still got 190 or something. Anyway, he’s messing around. He’s got to have three or four iron in his hand, but he’s up the face like this. I’m thinking he’s going to hit the face or he’s going to hit this tree. He gets down, he clears the lip by this much and clears the tree by this much. I’m like, ‘wow’. He hits it to about 12 feet. I said to Stevie, ‘that has to be one of the greatest shots I’ve seen in my life’.

“We get up there, Toms chips up, misses the putt. Ernie misses his putt. But Woods is stalking this thing from every angle.

“Bang, makes it. I was stood at the back of the green, take my cap off and walked up to him and said, ‘I think that’s the greatest shot I’ve ever seen in my life’. And he just looked at me and went, ‘I think that’s the best shot I ever hit’.”

How Tiger Woods reacted to finishing second at the 2002 PGA Championship

Just like the 2009 event at the same course, the 2002 PGA Championship actually provided a piece of history in the career of Tiger Woods.

It turned out to be the first time he had ever finished second in a major championship – having already won eight. And following the final round, he explained how he was left with mixed emotions about his performance in the tournament.

“Well, it is frustrating. Any time you finish second in any tournament, it’s frustrating; it’s disappointing. Yeah, in a major, it’s the same. It feels the same way,” he said.

“As I said, it’s kind of a double-edged sword right now because I’m frustrated I made the mistakes on 13 and 14, but then again, I’m also pumped at the way I finished. How are you going to look at it? I think I’m going to look at it both ways, because I did make the mistakes and I did suck it up coming in. I’m going to learn from those mistakes, and I’m also going to learn from the way I approached those last four holes, as well.”

Woods would have to wait until 2005 for his next runner-up finish in a major – which came at the US Open. Meanwhile, his next second place finish at the PGA Championship did indeed come when Yang shocked the world.