Augusta National has thrown up many iconic moments and one of the most memorable came in 2005, when Tiger Woods chipped in from a near impossible lie on the par 3 16th to send the surrounding patrons into absolute raptures.
Since that moment some 18 years ago, there have been many hole-in-ones but rarely chip-ins. That is until now when, playing the final round of The Masters, Sahith Theegala produced an extremely similar chip-in for birdie that, once again, caused the patrons to go crazy. You can watch the stunning chip-in via The Masters app here.
Sahith Theegala chips in for birdie on No. 16 to move into a tie for third place. #themasters pic.twitter.com/bMrbBmYLKtApril 9, 2023
Although the chip from Theegala was slightly further away than Woods', you can't deny that the moment it hits the green it is very similar, with the ball trickling through the fringe and down the slope towards the flagstick.
From there, in a scene we are used to seeing from the number of hole-in-ones on the 16th, the ball rolls down the slope with the marker line never leaving the hole. Rattling the flag, it drops for a birdie with the patrons surrounding the green going berserk as Theegala high fives his caddie!
Obviously the shot sent social media a bit wild, as the PGA Tour tweeted the video with the caption "Tiger-esque from @SRTheegala", whilst multiple other platforms also called out the similarity of the shot from the American.
Tiger-esque from @SRTheegala 🤌 pic.twitter.com/eOSUauIGE7April 9, 2023
After holing the chip-in, the drama continued, as Theegala found the fairway with his tee shot on the 17th before his approach clattered into the grandstand that sits long and left of the 17th green. Chipping back on to the green, he subsequently missed the par putt but the 25-year-old looks to finish inside the top-12 to earn an invite to next year's Masters.
