The 5 Biggest Chokes in Golf Majors
The Biggest Chokes in the History of Golfs Major Championships
It was triple US Open champion Hale Irwin who once said:
“Golf is the loneliest sport. You’re completely alone with every conceivable opportunity to defeat yourself. Golf brings out your assets and liabilities as a person.”
This summarises the maddening collapse that lies within what looks like a deceptively easy game at times. These are the biggest chokes in Golf Majors' History.
When the nerves kick in for would-be winners on the back nine of the fourth round, the mind can have a damaging effect on the mechanics of the swing. Chaos ensues…
In this article, read about the 5 biggest chokes in golf majors!
1. Rory McIlroy: Masters 2011
Arriving at Augusta in 2011, Rory McIlroy was a young 20-something with the world at his feet.
He was in the top 10 in the world rankings, winning what some considered the ‘fifth major’ at Quail Hollow in 2010, and he was ready to take a big one.
The Northern Irishman started the final round four shots clear at 12 under.
Unfortunately, the pressure ratcheted up in a way that was too red-hot for Rory.
He carded a triple bogey, bogey and double bogey from the 10th to the 12th, slumping over his driver with body language in meltdown for a horror 80.
Mcilroy went from first after 54 holes to tied for 15th. Two months later, he won the US Open by eight shots. What a maddening game!
2. Jean van de Velde: Carnoustie 1999
It seems incomprehensible that a man who shot 73-74-76 in the first three rounds can win a major.
Paul Lawrie did exactly that to take the 1999 Open. To lie 10 over par and 10 shots behind the leader going into the final round can only point to a total implosion by the leader.
That’s exactly what happened to journeyman Jean van de Velde.
The Frenchman was ranked 152 in the world but held a five-stroke lead over Justin Leonard and Craig Parry going into the final round.
By the 72nd hole, he only needed a double bogey to secure the title, an almost certainty given he’d birdied the hole in two of the previous three rounds.
For some reason, Van de Velde chose a driver off the tee to end up on dry land but with a tricky approach.
He refused to lay up and guarantee a couple of putts to win by going for the green, ending up in treacherous rough.
When he dumped the third shot into the water, Van de Velde removed his shoes and socks to see if he could hit his ball out of the Barry Burn.
Ultimately, he took a drop and then hit his fifth shot into the greenside bunker. Courageously and amazingly, the Frenchman got down in two to make a playoff.
Unfortunately, there were no second chances.
Peter Alliss’s commentary is darkly comic and compelling in equal measure. French flair on the final hole was never so misplaced.
3. Greg Norman: 1996 Masters
Some moments just transcend the sport!
Greg Norman was world number one in 1996 and held a six-shot lead over Nick Faldo at Augusta after 54 holes.
By the end of the Masters final round, Norman wasn’t even in the picture, after he shot a 78 to the Englishman’s 67.
The Australian was always the most gracious loser:
“I screwed up. It’s all on me. I know that. I’ll wake up tomorrow, still breathing, I hope. All these hiccups I have, they must be for a reason. All this is just a test. I just don’t know what the test is yet.”
Faldo embraced his defeated comrade with a warm hug at the 18th as he kept it together for his third green jacket and a sixth and final major. Norman would never come close to winning a big one again.
Faldo said:
“The hug wasn’t planned. I genuinely felt for him. If I had a six-shot lead and had blown it, I would be scarred for life. Needless to say we haven’t spoken about it since.”
4. Jordan Spieth: 2016 Masters
2015 was the year that Jordan Spieth dominated the major golf calendar.
He was the second youngest winner of the Masters at 21, clinched the US Open, came second at the US PGA and finished fourth at the Open.
The following year, as one of the greatest golf players of his time, he looked destined for another green jacket.
The American was five shots ahead with nine to play but bogeyed the next two holes.
He then came to the par three 12th and launched two tee shots into the water, ending up with a quadruple bogey seven and three shots behind surprise British winner Danny Willett.
Spieth claimed his 80 wasn’t a choke though:
"When the pressure was on that day, I was hitting the ball horribly. ... But it wasn't because it was Sunday at Augusta. No, it was like I was just hitting it that bad.”
5. Doug Sanders: 1970 Open
On the last hole at St Andrews, Sanders' tee shot on the 18th hole landed less than 80 yards from the pin. With only a par needed, victory looked assured.
The American’s approach was a little messy and left him a long putt which he lagged up to about three feet away.
Jack Nicklaus was in the scorers’ tent and was pretty certain that the game was up.
However, after studying the short putt for what seemed like an eternity, Texan Sanders pushed it horribly to the right to tie with the Golden Bear.
Nicklaus won the subsequent 18-hole playoff the next day by a shot.
Big Jack had nothing but respect for his beaten opponent:
“Doug was a really good player, he just was never quite able to push it over the edge at majors. He was a great and tough competitor.”
Agonisingly, Sanders was only one shot away at the 1959 PGA, the 1961 US Open and at Muirfield in 1966 (also to Nicklaus).
When asked if he ever thought about that putt, he jokingly replied: “Only once every four or five minutes.”
