Championship
- Text Size:
- Small Text
- Medium Text
- Large Text
Mighty majors: The 10 best since 1997
Phil Mickelson will not soon forget the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot.
Photo:Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
By John Hawkins
This week's PGA Championship is the second major I haven't attended since joining the Golf World staff in 1995. The other was the 2000 U.S. Open, which I missed due to the birth of my first child, a tournament Tiger Woods won by 15 strokes. When I later told Woods about my absence, he shot me a funny look, then suggested a series of Irish twins before my best days were behind me.
Majors are like kids in that they all take on different personalities. All are special in their own way, yet some ultimately turn out better than others. If Sunday drama, sexy storylines, quality of play, historical connotations, tournament atmosphere and Monday-morning buzz count for anything, here are my nominees for the 10 best majors of the last 10 years.
- 10. 2002 PGA Championship
Rich Beem's improbable victory capped a week full of electricity, be it via late-afternoon thunderstorms or the positive energy emitted by Hazeltine National's massive galleries. Woods' late rally made it interesting, but unlike other mystery champs, a guy who had no business winning went out and did just that. Three strokes behind at the start of the day, Beem mixed early aggression and late caution to play a stellar final round.
- 9. 2006 U.S. Open
The macabre movie on this menu, its gruesome ending will always disguise the notion that this was the fairest and most fascinating bloodbath of the current era. As three of the game's best players faltered on the 72nd hole, forfeiting a victory claimed by Geoff Ogilvy, the USGA's sadistic-but-not-silly scenario had, for once, reared its pretty head. After overcooking the setups at Shinnecock and Pinehurst, Winged Foot was served well-done.
- 8. 1999 Masters
A vastly underrated affair won by José Maria Olazábal, who edged Greg Norman in a tense-but-friendly duel. It would prove to be Norman's last hurrah, in a sense, another of those tough losses that defined his career, but it also was one of the few times in the last decade that Augusta National played firm and fast. From premium conditions came an ultra-worthy champion.
- 7. 1999 PGA
Sergio Garcia's debutante brawl with Woods looked like the start of a delightful rivalry. Still, this false alarm featured plenty of late-Sunday suspense, with Garcia's escape from behind a tree and jaunt up Medinah's 16th fairway becoming a seminal moment. A major with all the trimmings, it ended Tiger's 28-month drought and ignited a run of seven big titles in 11 starts.
- 6. 2000 U.S. Open
Less of a tournament than a Hall-of-Fame induction, it lands on this list because it was only the greatest performance in golf history. I didn't make it to Pebble Beach, but no one else needed to bother besides Woods, who shattered the U.S. Open scoring record despite a third-round triple bogey. More than any of his remarkable victories, this triumph created the competitive separation and psychological advantages Tiger still enjoys today.
- Text Size:
- Small Text
- Medium Text
- Large Text
