Tiger Woods was unstoppable at The Memorial Tournament during his career. To secure the Muirfield event a record five times, Woods often had to do the unthinkable. In 1999, he did just that, and even the great Jack Nicklaus was in awe.

Woods achieved a three-peat at the Memorial Tournament, winning from 1999 to 2001. He then went on to win the event in 2009 as well as 2012. In the final round of his first win, Woods pulled off something extraordinary.

"I've been in that position. You know what it takes to play that shot. Guts," Nicklaus said on the commentary, per Talk Sport.

"He did it, he absolutely just made that ball and willed it into the hole," he added.

Woods was in an intense battle with playing partner Vijay Singh. The Cypress-born golfer tightly held on to a one-shot final-round lead at the end of the 13th hole.

However, at the par-4 14th hole, Woods airmailed a wedge long of the green. As a result, his shot was in the weeds.

The only option Woods had was a sharp downhill chip on a fast green. The tucked pin added to his troubles.

Woods took his first attempt only to receive collective gasps from the crowd. The flop shot traveled less than 10ft and remained in the rough. 

Woods went ahead with his second attempt for par, and the rest was history. The shot was pitched just on the green, spun, and went straight to the pin. 

The crowd went from gasps to a roar as Woods kept his lead. On the other hand, Singh bogeyed the hole and Woods' lead extended by one, to two strokes. 

After the second attempt, the 5-time Memorial Tournament winner fist bumped his caddie, Steve Williams, and was headed for the win. 

Woods reflected on the mindset required to win his first Memorial title.

Woods After Winning The 1999 Memorial Tournament

The 1999 Memorial Tournament was the first of five titles that Woods won at the Jack Nicklaus event.

“I thrive on the short game,” Woods said following his win. “Because it will demoralize most opponents. I could see what it was doing to Vijay. We’re good friends, but he started to get real quiet on the back nine.” 

With a score of 15-under par, Woods edged his friend Singh by two strokes. 

Woods then was referred to his chip shot on the 14th, noting that he had executed it as planned and initially expected it to finish just below the hole.

This week, Scheffler will step onto Muirfield hoping to match Woods’ record three-peat. But to do so, the world No. 1 might need to pull off shots just like Woods did back in 1999.

What are your thoughts on the chip-in by Woods? Share them in the comments. 

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Written by

Avishek Sarkar

Edited by

Rudra Dubey