The 3 Greatest Fist Pumps of Tigers Career
Tiger Woods sent the golf world into absolute mayhem just over a month ago with one simple tweet:
Everyone (including myself) went crazy over this video showing Tiger hitting his famous stinger. After watching this swing, people started to ask “will Tiger be back soon?”
Just over a week later, golf fans got the answer to that burning question when he announced his return to competitive golf at the 18-man Hero World Challenge held at Albany, Bahamas.
And well, unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past month, you’re aware that today is finally the day. Considering this is Tigers first start in nine months, I thought why not add to the excitement by taking a look back at three of the greatest Tiger fist pumps.
The Ace That Fired Up Phoenix
Its the third round of the 1997 Phoenix open when a baby faced 21-year old Tiger Woods is standing on the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale. The large crowd was anxious to see how Tiger would handle the “loudest hole in golf” for the first time as a professional.
Sitting 152 yards out, Tiger proceeded to send the crowd into a frenzy with one swing of the club.
As the patrons began to shower Woods with their beer, I’m able to count around 9 separate fist pumps before Tiger high-fives the rest of his group. Robert Garrigus, who was in the stands at the time of the ace, was quoted as saying:
“ I might have been the first guy to throw a beer, I don’t know… it started raining, big time … and they’re getting pelted with beers. It was unbelievable.”
Many believe this might be one of the most famous non-major golf shots in history. It was also one of the first times in Tigers incredible professional career that we saw the fist pump, which would soon become one of his staples.
A Fist Pump Better Than Most
Now if your an avid golf fan I’m sure you are already familiar with Gary Koch’s legendary “Better than most!” call but I’ll set the scene anyways.
Its Saturday at the 2001 Players Championship and Tiger has just hit his tee shot just off the green on the famous 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass. This leaves Tiger with a 60-footer, downhill, triple breaker that your average golfer would be thrilled with two putting.
Tiger Woods however, is the furthest you can come from average.
He follows up this almost impossible birdie with a massive uppercut as the crowd surrounding the 17th hole quickly lose their minds. This birdie ended up helping Tiger secure a one shot victory over Vijay Singh and lead him to his first of two career Players Championships.
The Master of Fist Pumps
It’s safe to say the 2005 Masters Tournament had one of the greatest final rounds in history where Tiger Woods started the round with a three shot lead over Chris DiMarco.
After a DiMarco par and Woods bogey on 18, a playoff hole was required to decide the 2005 champion. Woods would go on to make birdie on the first playoff hole which led to the iconic photo below.
This gave Tiger an incredible four Green Jackets and currently stands as his last victory at Augusta National.
With the golf world praying for a healthy Tiger Woods, we hope to see a little more of this magic this weekend at the Hero World Challenge!
