While victories are always the most remembered sports moments, some of the most heartbreaking are near misses that can define a career. Sadly, tragedies are also part of the 30 most heartbreaking golf moments.
30. Sam Snead: 1939 US Open
Sam Snead never won the US Open. In 1939, he made his third attempt at the Philadelphia Country Club. Snead thought he needed a birdie to win. However, a par would’ve sufficed. He hooked his drive, attempted a 2-wood, and found sand. Complications arose. They added up to a treble-bogey eight. Nonetheless, Snead did achieve seven top-5 U.S. Open finishes.
29. Adam Scott: 2012 Open
At the 2012 Open Championship, Adam Scott looked sure to win his first Major. With four to play, Ernie Els had a birdie at the 72nd hole, and it didn’t look to be enough. Scott needed a par to tie Els on 18. His putt for a four slipped by. Els won his second Open one stroke ahead of Scott.
28. IK Kim: 2012 Kraft Nabisco
Attempting to win the 2012 Kraft Nabisco, IK Kim needed to make a one-foot putt. Her attempt somehow stayed out. She went on to lose a playoff to Sun-Young Yoo. Nonetheless, five years later, she finally achieved winning a Major at the Women’s British Open. Kim said, “What it [taught] me is to give the same effort to every shot.”
27. Thomas Bjorn: 2003 Open
Unfortunately, Thomas Bjorn took three shots to escape the greenside bunker and scored a double-bogey. Ben Curtis became the first debut winner since Tom Watson in 1975. For the second time in his career, Bjorn tied for second in the Open Championship, along with Vijay Singh. Both finished one stroke behind. Despite 18 attempts, the Open title eluded Bjorn.
26. Hunter Mahan: 2010 Ryder Cup
Hunter Mahan often suffered an unstable short game, and it picked the worst time to surface at the 2010 Ryder Cup. The US and Europe battle went right down to the anchor match between Graeme McDowell and Mahan. After McDowell birdied at the 16th, Mahan made a major flub. His greenside chip didn’t even reach the green.
25. Hale Irwin: 1983 Open
While fans will remember defending champion Tom Watson’s closing 2-iron to take his fifth and final Claret Jug, the match could have had a very different outcome. Hale Irwin missed a birdie effort the previous day after whiffing a two-inch putt. The next day, Irwin shot a 67 to tie for second place with Andy Bean, just one stroke back.
24. Scott Hoch: 1989 Masters
Scott Hoch’s performance at the 1989 Masters Tournament earned him the nickname “Hoch the Choke.” He missed a birdie putt from 25 feet that would have given him his first major championship. Eventual winner Nick Faldo wound up in a sudden-death playoff with Hoch, who missed a short one on 17.
23. Jordan Spieth: 2016 Masters
For the third straight year, after 54 holes, Jordan Spieth held the lead for the seventh consecutive round, a new record. In the final round, he birdied his final four holes to take a five-shot lead. He put two balls in the water at 12 and made a quadruple bogey. Spieth had one of the biggest collapses in Masters’ history.
22. Ian Woosnam: 2001 Open
From 1986-1992, Ian Woosnam had several good performances in the Open championship. His next opportunity with a win came at the 2001 Open. He was tied for the lead starting the final round. But his birdie was reduced to four after it was discovered he had 15 clubs in the bag. Woosnam finished tied for third.
21. Arnold Palmer: 1961 Masters
At Sunday’s final round, ten players had completed their rounds, but heavy rain and flooding caused the entire round to be replayed the next day. Defending champ Palmer found sand, and his par putt was also too bold. Palmer ran up a double-bogey six. Gary Player would defeat Palmer and amateur Charles Coe by one stroke.
20. Ben Crenshaw: 1995 Masters
The tournament came the day after Crenshaw was a pallbearer at the funeral of his legendary coach, Harvey Penick. But by the end of the week, in an emotional finish, Crenshaw tapped in on the 72nd hole one stroke ahead of runner-up Davis Love III. Crenshaw became the second-oldest Masters champion at the age of 43.
19. Anna Nordqvist: 2016 US Women’s Open
In a rules mishap, Anna Nordqvist touched the sand with her 5-iron at the second of three playoff holes. However, she was only told about the two-shot penalty after she had hit her third shot into the par-5 18th. Brittany Lang was told before her shot, which caused her to change her strategy, and she won by three.
18. Greg Norman: 1996 Masters
Greg Norman led the first three rounds and shot a 78 on Sunday but still finished second. Norman went 63 in the first round but doubled both the par 3s in the final. His opponent, Nick Faldo, was at his best throughout, overcoming a six-stroke deficit to win his third Masters five strokes ahead of Norman.
17. Jack Newton: 1983 Accident
Australian golfer Jack Newton finished second in two major Championships and had 13 professional victories. In 1983, at the height of his career, Newton suffered a near-fatal accident, walking into the spinning propeller of a Cessna airplane as he deplaned. He lost his right arm and eye. He later taught himself to play one-handed and typically scored in the mid-80s.
16. Seve Ballesteros: 1986 Masters
The 1986 Masters will be remembered for Jack Nicklaus, who became the winner of the Masters, the second-oldest of any major championship, and garnering his sixth green jacket and 18th major win. But for European fans, Seve Ballesteros’ regretful shot at the 15th hole sealed his fate for a fourth-place finish.
15. Rory McIlroy: 2011 Masters
McIlroy led by four after 54 holes, but by the 10th hole on Sunday, Rory would discover parts of the property many players weren’t familiar with. McIlroy went from leader to finishing tied for 15th. Nonetheless, McIlroy won the U.S. Open that year, won the PGA championship the following year, and won both the Open and PGA in 2014.
14. Colin Montgomerie: 2006 U.S. Open
It’s a tossup between who had the most disastrous 2006 U.S. Open, Montgomerie or Phil Mickelson. Both had a double bogey at the 18th. Montgomerie chose a 7-iron and hit short-right. Monty said: ” I usually hit the ball 10 yards further in that circumstance…It was a poor shot, no question about that, and I put myself into poor position.”
13. Arnold Palmer: 1966 U.S. Open
Palmer led by three starting the final round and by seven heading into the back nine. Arnold was nearing Ben Hogan’s scoring record. After seventeen, Casper and Palmer were even. In the playoff on Monday, Palmer led by two at the turn but would go on to lose by four, resulting in his third U.S. Open playoff loss.
12. Mark Roe: 2003 Open
Mark Roe finished the third round of the 2003 Open two off the lead. But then a problem arose. Roe and Jesper Parnevik had failed to swap scorecards, meaning they both signed for the wrong scores. This resulted in both players being disqualified. Since then, the ruling has been changed. Nonetheless, Mark Roe would never play in a Major again.
11. Greg Norman: 1987 Masters
Despite being a Hall of Fame golfer, somehow a Masters victory has eluded the Australian, though he has garnered both a trio of second- and third-place finishes. In 1987, Norman would lose the sudden-death playoff that began at the 10th Hall and ended at the 11th. Larry Mize birdied to beat out Norman and Seve Ballesteros, who tied for second.
10. Lexi Thompson: 2017 ANA Inspiration
A ruling would seal Lexi Thompson’s fate at the 2017 ANA Inspiration. She was penalized two shots for incorrectly placing a ball and another two for signing an incorrect scorecard. Thompson wasn’t told until she had six holes left. She birdied to reach a playoff with So Yeon Ryu, who took the victory at the first extra hole.
9. Tom Watson: 2009 Open
After Winning the second and third round, 59-year-old Watson made three birdies on the back nine to tie Steve Marino for the lead. Watson needed a par for the victory. At the 18th fairway, Watson hit a perfect approach to the green but suffered a horrible balance. He bogeyed, and Stewart Cink would win the four-hole playoff by six shots.
8. Bernhard Langer: 1991 Ryder Cup
At the 18th hole, the 1991 Ryder Cup came down to this for Bernhard Langer: Hole it and the Europeans retain the Ryder Cup; miss, and the Americans win it back. Unfortunately, Langer watched his six-foot putt slide by. The fierce competition between European and American fans saw Ryder Cup Matches become known as the “War on the Shore.”
7. Darren Clarke: 2006 Ryder Cup
Six weeks after the death of his wife to breast cancer, Darren Clarke teed up for one of the most emotional starts in the history of the competition. On Friday, with partner Lee John Westwood, he faced Americans Mickelson and DiMarco. He contributed three points from three matches to Europe’s victory. Clarke was named as the 2016 Ryder Cup captain.
6. Jean van de Velde: 1999 Open
Jean led in both the second and third rounds. He started the final round with a five-stroke lead over Craig Parry and Justin Leonard. Going into the 72nd hole, he still held a three-stroke lead. But he collapsed spectacularly. On the final playoff hole, Jean found the rough, leading to a double bogey, tying for second with Justin Leonard.
5. Tony Lema: 1966 Plane Crash
Tony Lema had 22 professional wins, including 12 PGA Tour victories and winning the Open Championship in 1964. In July 1966, Lema and his wife were passengers in a small aircraft that ran out of fuel. It crashed short of the seventh green at Lansing Sportsman’s Club in Lansing, Michigan. Lema was 32 years old.
4. Roberto De Vincenzo: 1968 Masters
De Vincenzo’s scorecard blunder has gone down in golfing folklore. The Argentinian golfer won the open the prior year. However, he will always be remembered for partner Tommy Aaron incorrectly marking the four when Roberto actually made a birdie, and he failed to catch the mistake. Bob Goalby would win his only major championship one stroke ahead of De Vincenzo.
3. Doug Sanders: 1970 Open
Doug Sanders’ 24 professional victories include 20 PGA Tour wins. But a Major title eluded him. He will always be known for a costly error that would have given him a championship. Heading into the 72nd hole, Sanders led by one. After clearing some debris, Sanders missed a three-footer. Jack Nicholas would beat him by a shot in the playoff.
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2. Seve Ballesteros Brain Tumor
Spanish golfer Seve Ballesteros, inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1999, had an extraordinary 90 professional wins, including an all-time record of 50 European Tour victories. He won the Open Championship three times and the Masters Tournament twice. In 2008, he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. Despite four operations, he passed away in 2011.
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1. Payne Stewart’s Death
Payne Stewart was a flamboyant golfer known for wearing attire from golf’s early days: paddy caps and knickerbockers. He won 11 PGA Tour events and three major championships. His last was the U.S. Open at Pinehurst in 1999. Less than a month later, he died at age 42 in a plane crash while traveling to the year-ending tournament in Houston.
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