One of the most iconic clubs in golf’s history is a 35.25-inch, chrome-finished Scotty Cameron Newport 2 putter with a single dot on the topline and two distinct red dots, one on the front, the other on the back.
“Yep, it’s been pretty good to me,” Tiger Woods said of the putter he calls “Scotty.” “Seriously, it’s been a special club.”
Bobby Jones had Calamity Jane, Judge Smails his Billy Baroo and Woods his Scotty, which he first wrapped his paws around in 1999. Since then, the club has been in his bag for 66 of his record-tying 82 PGA Tour titles and 14 of his 15 majors and led to nearly $95 million in earnings.
“It’s hard to describe how it’s always felt in my hands; how confident I’ve always felt with it,” he said. “It’s been a huge part of my life on the golf course.”
In tandem, the two have delivered some of the game’s most memorable putts. It’s a long list, indeed, and presents a challenge as difficult as facing a 6-foot, downhill putt that breaks two feet at Augusta National – what are the best putts Woods has made in his career?
While Woods hasn’t used the Scotty since February due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, he’s had plenty of time to recall his best work with the shortest club in his bag. We’ve had the time, too, and offer up our list of the Top 10 best putts in Woods’ career. Without doubt, the list is open to dispute, as is the ranking. But that is what the 19th hole is for. Anyway, here’s our list. Be sure to come back all week as we continue the countdown.
10. 18th hole, Bay Hill Club and Lodge
Arnold Palmer Invitational(s)
Yes, some liberty was taken and we rolled three putts into the No. 10 ranking. Had to because not once, not twice, but three times Woods holed walk-off birdie putts on the 18th hole – or the 72nd hole if you will – to win Arnie’s annual bash.
In front of the King each time, no less.
Sure, he’s won the tournament a record eight times but none were more dramatic than his trio of show-enders.
2001: Tiger knocked a 5-iron to 15 feet and with Phil Mickelson looking on with his wife, Amy, Woods faced a big breaking downhill putt. Buried it.
“I had that putt before and I missed it low twice in the final round,” Woods said. “I said, ‘Trust the break. Whatever you read, play it just a little bit more than what you read.’ And I read it to break probably about a foot and I said, ‘Well, just add that couple little more inches just in case.’ And I hit the putt just the way I wanted to and it took its time breaking. Didn’t really start breaking until toward the end, but once it started snapping, it went sideways and caught the hole.”
2008: He had 24 feet to beat Bart Bryant and earn his fifth consecutive PGA Tour title. Buried it.
“That’s why Tiger’s Tiger,” Bryant said. “It didn’t surprise me one bit. You know, you’ve still got to chuckle, even though you’re not surprised. Anything he does anymore doesn’t surprise me.”
Once the putt disappeared, Woods roared and rifled his hat to the ground.
“When Stevie (Williams, his caddie) handed me my hat, I was like, ‘How in the hell did he get my hat?’” Woods laughed. “Evidently, it came off. I don’t know how it came off, but it came off.”
2009: A year later, Woods fell five shots behind in the final round but had 16 uphill feet to defeat Sean O’Hair and win for the first time since reconstructive knee surgery sent him to the sidelines after winning the 2008 U.S. Open. Buried it.
“I kept telling myself obviously with the temperature getting a little cooler, this putt is going to be a little bit slower because of that. On top of that, the putt is uphill into the grain left to right, make sure you hit it hard to get it up to the hole. I hit a pure putt. I hit it really solid and it held its line all the way there.”
9. 17th hole, TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course
Finals of the 1994 U.S. Amateur
Most golf fans the world over caught their first glimpse of Woods and got a taste of what was to come. The skinny lad in a large straw hat and oversized striped shirt – no, there wasn’t any red – flashed his power, his daring ways and never-give-up-attitude when he stormed back from 6 down in the 36-hole final against Trip Kuehne to win 2 up.
Woods won six of the final 10 holes and squared the match with a birdie on the 16th. Then he took the lead with a birdie on the iconic island green about 15 minutes later. His daring tee shot over all the water nearly found the agua but spun back and stopped on the fringe about 14 feet from the traditional Sunday pin placement used for the Players Championship.
Still, he faced a big right-to-left putt that went through about three feet of fringe. The stroke was true, the roll pure and the ball disappeared. Woods erupted into a fist-pumping celebration. He won the last hole for the first of his record three consecutive victories in the U.S. Amateur. At the time Woods, 19, was the youngest to win the event.
8. 9th hole, Augusta National Golf Club
Final round of 2019 Masters
A resurrected Woods was trying to win the Masters for the first time since 2005 and his first major since he limped to victory in the 2008 U.S. Open. He was in the final group on the final day and hot on the heels of leader Francesco Molinari after birdies on the seventh and eighth.
Then Woods faced his toughest putt in the final round – a 65-footer from the back of the three-tiered green at the ninth, with the pin on the front tier of the slippery sloping surface. In a practice round he faced a similar putt in a closest-to-the-pin contest with Justin Thomas and Fred Couples. When the chips were down with higher stakes on the line, Woods delivered another exquisite putt.
Taking a line about eight feet to the right of the hole and gently stroking the ball – which at times looked like it was going to stop well short – the ball came to rest within tap-in range. Woods let loose a few subdued mini-fist pumps as he walked to finish off his par.
“Fortunately and unfortunately, I’ve had that putt before,” Woods said. “I have left it on the middle shelf, and so that’s obviously not where you want to be. But also, it’s very easy to putt the ball over the green, or actually down the front edge of the green. The good thing that I had going for me was at that time, the wind was a little bit into me, so I had a little bit of a backboard with that wind being slightly into me. But it’s being committed to hitting that ball up there into that fringe, or near the fringe. Only problem is if you get it too far right, actually, it gets a little steeper and picks up a lot of speed.
“The conservative approach is to play it a little bit left of the hole and you know you take your 10-, 15-footer and move on with a four or five. But I decided to take a little bit more of a risk.”
Calamity ensued on the 12th hole, Woods birdied the 13th and 15th and nearly aced the 16th and won by one shot for his fifth green jacket and 15th major triumph. All set up by the putt on the ninth.
Coming up: Nos. 7, 6 and 5 on the list. Two of those came in the final rounds of majors. The other came in a playoff at the Masters.
