Tiger Woods’ performance at the 2005 Masters will be remembered for that chip on the 16th hole during Sunday’s final round, as well as Verne Lundquist’s iconic commentary.
That week would see Tiger Woods‘ final victory at Augusta National until 2019.
But it also saw the American write his name into the history books by equalling the record for the most consecutive birdies at The Masters.
Remarkably, Woods would produce the run on exactly the same stretch of holes as the player who had set the new record six years earlier.
The player who broke a Masters record by making seven consecutive birdies
The 1999 Masters saw Jose Maria Olazabal win the event for a second time. There was also another close call for Greg Norman, who began the last round just one shot off the lead.
Meanwhile, tied for third with 18 holes to play were Davis Love III and Steve Pate.
Pate did not comfortably make the cut, reaching the halfway mark at two over par. However, he went on to produce the best round of the entire week with a 65 on Saturday.
Pate made birdie on every hole between the seventh and the 13th in the third round to break the record held by Johnny Miller, Mark Calcavecchia and David Toms.
He would ultimately end the week tied for fourth.
It was not Pate’s best result at Augusta National. He had gone one better in 1991, as Ian Woosnam continued the United Kingdom’s recent dominance of the event.
Steve Pate also holds a place in Ryder Cup folklore after the ‘War by the Shore’
What was so impressive about Pate’s performance at The Masters in 1999 was that he had not actually been in the field since 1993.
Unfortunately, injuries blighted his career.
He did win six times on the PGA Tour, with his final victory coming in 1998 at the CVS Charity Classic.
However, he may be best known for being one of the players who needed to utilise the envelope rule at the Ryder Cup.
Pate was involved in a car accident in the days leading up to the 1991 event at Kiawah Island.
He did feature on Saturday afternoon. However, the rib injury he had suffered led to Pate being withdrawn from the singles. That meant he shared a point with David Gilford.
It proved to be crucial as Team USA won the ‘War by the Shore’ by the barest of margins, with Bernhard Langer’s decisive putt in the final match sliding agonisingly by the hole.
Pate’s second and final Ryder Cup appearance would come in 1999.
He sat out the opening day, but played twice with Tiger Woods on Saturday. The pair won one match and lost the other.
The 38-year-old would beat Miguel Angel Jimenez in the Sunday singles to move Ben Crenshaw’s men 13-10 ahead at Brookline. Once again, he would end the week on the winning side.
Pate’s final appearance at Augusta National would come the following year, as he finished tied for 49th.
It was not exactly a fitting farewell for someone who shares such an impressive record with one of the greatest players of all time.
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