US Masters: The Greatest Shots of All Time?

A great thing about watching the U.S Masters is that you’re constantly poised on the edge of your seat in anticipation that something remarkable is about to happen.

History has been made again and again over the years, and it’s not just the winners who have inspired sudden bouts of brilliance on the greens. Here we list our favourite shots which have left spectators and players open mouthed.

So do you agree with our choices? Think there have been better ones? Why not go onto our Facebook page and tell us what you think.

10) Doug Ford’s Bunker Shot 1957

Doug Ford had already won the PGA Championship that year but would solidify his incredible legacy further when on the green-side bunker of the 18th hole at Augusta National in the U.S Masters Tournament. Ford was one stroke ahead of Sam Snead heading to the 18th hole when he hit his approach shot with a seven iron into a plugged lie. It looked to be over for Ford until he blasted the ball out of the lie and right into the hole for an amazing, and somewhat improbable, birdie to finish the round with 66, which happened to be the lowest final score in U.S Masters history to that point.

9) Phil Mickelson’s 6-Iron Through the Trees 2010

Phil Mickelson looked like a haunted man when his ball came to rest underneath a group of towering Georgia Pines following an uncharacteristic pull back on his tee shot right on the par-five 13th. Faced with a staggering 209 yards to the hole, 187 yards to carry the water fronting the green, and an opening of no more than four feet from which to shoot his ball though, even his caddy Jim “Bones" MacKay felt this was one shot too far. But Mickelson grabbed his six iron and blasted the ball through the pines, over the water and to within four feet of the cup, prompting an explosion of cheers and clapping from an amazed crowd.

8) Sandy Lyle’s Bunker Shot 1998

Sandy Lyle didn’t have the best of starts in 1998’s U.S Masters Tournament final. Hitting the ball off the tee with his one-iron, he had to watch with a grimace as it soared through the trees and right into the left fairway bunker. An up-and-down from 160 yards seemed the only possible shot for a win. Lyle flushed his fairway bunker shot to within 8 feet of the cup and would go on to sink his birdie putt to become the first British player to win The U.S Masters. It was a defining moment in his career, and one that nobody has forgotten to this day.

7) Louis Oosthuizen’s Beauty 2012

What is even rarer to achieve than a hole in one? Maybe you should have watched South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen, who stunned the crowd both in attendance and watching at home when his approach shot on the par 5 2nd hole towards the green trickled into the cup. It was an astounding moment that goes down in U.S Masters history and which is yet to be replicated.

6) Larry Mize Stunner 1987

The great thing about this tournament is that memories last a lifetime, and the shot produced from Larry Mize in 1987 was something to behold. He sealed a dramatic play-off victory over Greg Norman with a birdie at the death after his chip shot on the 14th hole, sending the crowd in attendance into shocked applaud. Such a shot was so out of the ordinary that it has never been forgotten and those who saw it still remember it fondly.

5) Bubba Watson Recovery Shot 2012

The winner of last year’s U.S Masters Tournament, Bubba Watson wowed the crowd with some amazing shots on his way to pulling on the Green Jacket for the first time. But it was his recovery on the 10th hole in the play-off against Louis Oosthuizen that stole the show and helped him push on to seal a massive victory.

4) Billy Joe Patton’s Hole in One 1954

A hole in one by Billy Joe Patton on the 6th in 1954 sent shockwaves through Augusta. Never before had an amateur looked to be heading for victory at the event, and the gallery swelled from a few hundred to a few thousand onlookers as he traversed the course. Unfortunately a devastating double bogey at the 13th after hitting his second shot into Rae’s Creek wound up costing him the tournament and Patton missed out on a playoff with Sam Snead and Ben Hogan by a single stroke.