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.
