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Bag Chatter’s Top Tiger Moments
The entire country was talking about Tiger’s remarkable win at Bay Hill last week.
Tiger making the final birdie putt to win was a foregone conclusion in many people’s minds. Rather than settle for the mundane, Woods has a flair for the dramatic that can’t be matched. Michael Jordan seemed to hang in the air just a second longer than the people he played against. As a child of the 1990’s, it was hard for me to believe that any athlete could ever match him. Now Tiger Woods has surpassed him. It got me thinking about my favorite Tiger Woods moments, so I polled the rest of the Bag Chatter staff to see what they thought.
A Raehtz: My top Tiger shot is putt at Valhalla on the 17th at the 2000 PGA Championship to take the lead over Bob May. Every single Tiger Woods highlight reel has footage of Tiger walking the putt in with his finger pointed at the hole. It is simply timeless. He walks it in, picks it up, and charges to the next tee. There are very few times in golf that you get to see that cutthroat mentality like Tiger at Valhalla. He just couldn’t wait to get on that tee and finish May off with a giant drive.
D Grannan: My defining moment in the career of Tiger Woods is when he beat Stephen Ames, 9 and 8 in the Accenture World Match Play. After being asked about his chances in the match with Tiger, Ames stated "Anything can happen….Especially where he’s hitting the ball." Talk about inserting ones foot in their mouth. Apparently that statement motivated Tiger to unleash a beating rarely seen in golf, especially at the professional level. Tiger was asked if the statements made by Ames motivated him, he replied with a resounding and confident, "Yes". Then he was asked if he cared to elaborate, Tiger replied just as quickly and surely, "No." It is a perfect example of what Tiger can do when he is motivated, total destruction of a player or the field. Stephen Ames was handed one of the worst defeats in Match play history all because he made the mistake of unleashing a lion, or in this case a Tiger. This incident reminds me of several others that include Vijay, Rory, and Phil, all misstepping by calling Tiger out and then paying the price for doing so. It is almost as if Mr. Woods has a special gear that he can go to when he is upset by some silly comment made from one of his peers. He lets his clubs do the talking, maybe people should work on that instead of using their mouths.
K Vakamudi: I know it’s a cliche but anytime I think about Tiger Woods, the first thing that comes to mind is the 16th at Augusta in 2005. No other athlete before and no one since has had such an uncanny knack for making the impossible look routine. It was nearly an impossible shot to get close, let alone hole out. But a typical pitch that went flying down the hill slamming into the pin, would be far too easy. This shot had destiny written all over it, sauntering down the hill with the perfect line and perfect speed only to stop at the edge of the hole. The milliseconds during which the ball hung on the edge of the hole seemed to go on forever until it finally fell into the hole. Even the most talented author couldn’t have imagined a more perfect story. It transcended real life and for a moment crept into fantasy.
M Anderson: For every moment that Tiger Woods performs feats unparalleled in golf history, the one that stands out for me is not one of his mastery of ball and club but his reaction to his victory at The Open at Hoylake in 2006. Ten times previously, Tiger had dominated the field and gone home with the spoils: a green jacket, a claret jug, the Wanamaker and the US Open Trophies. Ten times he had turned to his family to celebrate. This time was different. For the first time, Tiger could no longer turn to the man who had been his best friend and mentor. Earl Woods, Tiger’s father, had died a mere 2 months previously.
On that day, Tiger’s famed self-control cracked and for once we were privileged to see the man rather than the marvel as this phenomenally talented and dedicated sportsman broke into tears in the knowledge that this was a victory that he could not share with the man who more than any other allowed him to become who he has. In an era of arrogance and bluster, when soundbites take anyway any sense that sportsman are one of us, here was someone exposed as exactly that, experiencing heartbreak at what should be a moment of supreme joy. Tiger often makes the superlative look mundane but this was the first time that the public caught a glimpse of the extraordinary man behind the achievements and his love and admiration for his "Pops" who made it all possible.
What’s your favorite Tiger moment? Discuss it in our forums!
I’m going to gush in this intro paragraph, to get the emo stuff done early. I’ve not pulled harder for a professional to win, than Cameron Young. I coach golf in New York state, and each spring, my best golfers head to a state championship in Poughkeepsie. I first saw Cameron there as a 9th grade student. I saw him three more times after that. I reconnecected with Coach Haas from Wake Forest, an old interview subject from my days on the Old Gold and Black, the Wake newspaper. He was there to watch Cameron. After four years at Wake Forest, Young won on the Korn Ferry Tour, made it to the big tour, almost won two majors, almost won five other events, and finally got the chalice about 25 minutes from the Wake campus. Congratulations, Cameron. You truly are a glass of the finest. #MotherSoDear
OK, let’s move on to the Tour Rundown. The major championship season closed this week in Wales, with the Women’s Open championship. The PGA Tour bounced through Greensboror, N.C., while the PGA Tour Americas hit TO (aka, Toronto) for a long-winded event. The Korn Ferry lads made a stop in Utah, one of just two events for that tour in August. The many-events, golf season is winding down, as we ease from summer toward fall in the northern hemisphere. Let’s bask in the glory of an August sunrise, and run down a quartet of events from the first weekend of the eighth month.
LET/LPGA @ Women’s Open: Miyu bends, but she doesn’t break
Royal Porthcawl was not a known commodity in the major tournament community. The Welsh links had served as host to men’s senior opens, men’s amateurs, and Curtis and Walker Cups in prior years, but never an Open championship for the women or the men. The last-kept secret in UK golf was revealed once again to the world this week, as the best female golfers took to the sandy stage.
Mao Saigo, Grace Kim, Maja Stark, and Minjee Lee hoped to add a second major title to previous wins this season, but only Lee was able to finish inside the top ten. The 2025 playing of the Women’s Open gave us a new-faces gallery from day one. The Kordas and Thitikulls were nowhere to be found, and it was the Mayashitas, Katsus, and Lim Kims that secured the Cymru spotlight. The first round lead was held at 67 by two golfers. One of them battled to the end, while the other posted 81 on day two, and missed the cut. Sitting one shot behind was Miyu Yamashita.
On day two, Yamashita posted the round of the tournament. Her 65 moved her to the front of the aisle, in just her fourth turn around a women’s Open championship. With the pre-event favorites drifting off pace, followers narrowed into two camps: those on the side of an underdog, and others hoping for a weekend charge from back in the pack. In the end, we had a bit of both.
On Saturday, Yamashita bent with 74 on Saturday, offering rays of hope to her pursuing pack. England’s Charley Hull made a run on Sunday closing within one shot before tailing off to a T2 finish with Minami Katsu. Katsu posted the other 65 of the week, on Saturday, but could not overtake her countrywoman, Yamashita. wunderkind Lottie Woad needed one round in the 60s to find her pace, but could only must close-to’s, ending on 284 and a tie with Minjee for eighth.
On Sunday, Yamashita put away the thoughts of Saturday’s struggles, with three-under 33 on the outward half. She closed in plus-one 37, but still won by two, for a first Major and LPGA title.
PGA Tour @ Wyndham: Young gathers first title near home
Cameron Young grew up along the Hudson river, above metro New York, but he also calls Winston-Salem home. He spent four years as a student and athlete at Wake Forest University, then embarked on tour. This week in Greensboro, after a bit of a break, Young opened with 63-62, and revved the engine of Is this the week once more. Runner-up finishes at the Open, the PGA, and a handful of PGA Tour events had followers wonder when the day would come.
On Saturday, Young continued his torrid pace with 65, giving him a five-shot advantage over his closest pursuer. Sunday saw the Scarborough native open with bogey, then reel off five consecutive birdies to remind folks that his time had, at last, arrived. Pars to the 16th, before two harmless bogeys coming home, made Young the 1000th winner of an official PGA Tour event (dating back to before there was a PGA Tour) throughout history. What’s next? I have a suspicion, but I’m not letting on. Mac Meissner closed with 66 to finish solo 2nd, while Mark Hubbard and Alex Noren tied for third.
Korn Ferry Tour @ Utah Championship: Are you Suri it’s Julian?
Who knows exactly when the flower will bloom? Julian Suri played a solid careet at Duke University, then paid his dues on the world’s minor tours for three years. He won twice on two tours in Europe, in 2017. Since then, the grind has continued for the journeyman from New York city. At age 34, Suri broke through in Beehive state, outlasting another grinder (Spencer Levin) and four others, by two shots.
Taylor Montgomery began the week with 62, then posted 64, then 68, and finally, 70. That final round was his undoing. He finished in that second-place tie, two back of the leader. Trace Crowe, Barend Botha, and Kensei Hirata made up the last of the almost quintet. As for Suri, his Sunday play was sublime. His nines were 32 and 31, with his only radar blip a bogey at ten. He closed in style with one final birdie, to double his winning margin. Hogan bloomed late…might Suri?
PGA Tour Americas @ Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates
Some tournament names run longer than others. This week in Toronto, at the Heathlands course at TPC Toronto, we might have seen the longest tournament title in recorded history. The OVOPBVCCBMA was a splendid affair. It saw three rounds of 62 on Thursday, but of those early risers, only Drew Goodman would stick around until the end. 64 was the low tally on day two, and two of those legionnaires managed to finish inside the top three at week’s end. Saturday brought a 63 from Patrick Newcomb, and he would follow with 64 on Sunday, to finish solo fourth.
Who, then, ended up winning the acronym of the year? It turns out that Carson Bacha had the right stuff in TeeOhhh. Bacha and Jay Card III posted 63 and 64, respectively, on day four, to tie for medalist honors at 23-under 261. Nathan Franks was one shot adrift, despite also closing with 63. If you didn’t go low on Sunday, it was about the check, not the championship.
Bacha and JC3 returned to the 18th hole twice in overtime. Card nearly chipped in from the thick stuff for birdie, while Bacha peeked and shoved a ten-feet attempt at the win. On the second go-round, Card was long with his approach, into the native grasses once more. He was unable to escape, and a routine par from the fairway was enough to earn the former Auburn golfers a first KFT title.
Card III and Bacha both miss their birdie tries on the first playoff hole.
We’ll play 18 again @OspreyOpen. pic.twitter.com/vNpHTdkHDg
— PGA TOUR Americas (@PGATOURAmericas) August 3, 2025
GolfWRX is live this week from the final event of the PGA Tour’s regular season, the Wyndham Championship.
Photos are flowing into the forums from Sedgefield Country Club, where we already have a GolfWRX spirit animal Adam Schenk WITB and plenty of putters for your viewing pleasure.
Check out links to all our photos below, which we’ll continue to update as more arrive.
General Albums
- 2025 Wyndham Championship – Tuesday #1
- 2025 Wyndham Championship – Tuesday #2
- 2025 Wyndham Championship – Tuesday #3
WITB Albums
- Chandler Phillips – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Davis Riley – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Scotty Kennon – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Austin Duncan – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Will Chandler – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Kevin Roy – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Ben Griffin – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Peter Malnati – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Ryan Gerard – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Adam Schenk – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Kurt Kitayama – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Camilo Villegas – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Matti Schmid – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
Pullout Albums
- Denny McCarthy’s custom Cameron putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Swag Golf putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Karl Vilips TM MG5 wedges – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- New Bettinardi putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Matt Fitzpatrick’s custom Bettinardi putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Cameron putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
Kurt Kitayama just won his 2nd PGA Tour event at the 3M Open. Kurt is a Bridgestone staffer but with just the ball and bag. Here are the rest of the clubs he used to secure a win at the 2025 3M Open.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (11 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VF 7 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees, A3 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 TX
7-wood: Titleist GT1 (21 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 9 TX
Irons: TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Newport 2 Tour Prototype
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy 1.0PT
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Bridgestone Tour B XS (with Mindset)
‘Why would anybody want to change that swing?’ – Brandel Chamblee says PGA Tour star was wrong to change his swing
‘The stupidest freaking thing I’ve ever heard’ – Billy Horschel slams Open idea suggested by Padraig Harrington
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Golfer proudly posts photo of ball mark on iron, receives immediate roasting
WITB Time Machine: Matthew Wolff’s winning WITB, 2019 3M Open
Oakmont Country Club bans Wyndham Clark over locker incident; Reveals specific conditions to earn reinstatement
Adam Scott puts Callaway blades in the bag at Wyndham Championship
Report: LIV star fires caddie and coach in shock shake up
Rickie Fowler makes equipment change to ‘something that’s a little easier on the body’
The championship formula: How 3 key stats separate winners from the field
Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)
Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist...
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)
Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...
Dan
Mar 25, 2008 at 7:14 pm
Peter,
Since you called me out I will go ahead and reply to your little blurb. You are entitled to your opinion, as am I. In no way, shape, or form did I say that anyone should ever lie down and fail to compete. But players should be careful what they say with respect to Tiger’s game as it apparently motivates him to unleash a beating. Wouldn’t you think people would learn? Why call his game out? Like I mentioned in my little paragraph, instead of trying to use your mouth to irk Tiger, why not use your clubs?
I don’t worship anyone or anything, just as an FYI. As a former professional golfer I can appreciate what he is doing and has done. I only can control myself and my own actions, I cannot control what other professionals want to do. They can adhere to whatever beliefs that they want to, and I personally could care less if they talk trash or not. But if they do, as history has clearly shown, they best be prepared to reap the whirlwind from Tiger.
I was relaying a story per a request. If you did not like my take on it, oh well, comes with the territory. My brief paragraph highlighted a memorable moment in Tiger’s career. It happened to be about the beating he gave Ames, which was obvious it was because of what he said. If you want to add fuel to the fire of possibly the greatest player ever, feel free and go ahead. I would subscribe to the notion of letting my abilities do the work, not my mouth. I never once said that someone should worship Tiger, but respect is a different story. Be careful what you say as it can come back to bite you in the behind.
If you can point out in my article where I stated or implied that all of professional golf should lie down and not compete to make way for the Tiger show, I would love to see it.
Dan
therobsclub
Mar 22, 2008 at 8:53 pm
I’m gonna have to go with Tiger’s unmightyly shot from the bunker at Hazeltine with a 3 iron on 18. To hit it that high, over a tree that is literally right in front of him, and stick it to 10 feet and make a birdie is just incredible!!!! You literally have to stand there in the bunker and see what he had to work with. He even claims that, that is his best shot ever. The 16th at Augusta was a great shot, but the theatrics of it make it seem like it was the most amazing shot in golf. If you take a look at the chip that Palmer made against Player in the Masters, everyone will tell you that it was harder than Tiger’s chip.
Peter
Mar 22, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Hey D Grannan, so every other professional golfer should just stand aside and join the banal and sycophantic hero worship of Tiger that you subscribe to?
Without taking anything away from the guy – and he clearly is the best golfer on the planet by a long way – the other guys out there cannot, and must not, concede defeat. They *must* strive, they *must* continue to believe that they can beat everyone else, including Tiger.
Otherwise competitive professional golf with cease to exist and the multi-million industry will simply stop.
There has to be a sense of question about who will win any particular event, otherwise whats the point? It becomes the Tiger show, and frankly, that gets boring very very quickly.
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