19th Hole

The last-second club switch that cost Colin Montgomerie the 2006 U.S. Open

Published

6 years ago

Sep 15, 2020

Phil Mickelson’s final hole collapse at Winged Foot will always be the primary talking point amongst golf fans when discussing the 2006 U.S. Open. However, the reality is that there was Colin Montgomerie’s own final hole collapse that year which was much more brutal and equally as heartbreaking.

The Scot arrived at Winged Foot as the best player never to have won a major, with 30 European Tour wins to his name, a dominant Ryder Cup career under his belt and having suffered plenty of major close calls in the past.

About to turn 43, time was running out for Monty to get the elusive major he had always dreamed of winning. But it looked like the stars were about to align at the 2006 U.S. Open for Monty when on the 71st hole, he holed the putt of his life from 40 feet to claim a share of the lead.

Visibly emotional, Montgomerie steadied himself and ripped a driver down the fairway on the ferociously difficult 18th hole to put himself in prime position.

Waiting to play his approach shot to the final green, Monty was made to wait nervously, as playing partner Vijay Singh found himself in trouble down the left rough. That wait to hit his approach shot lasted almost 15-minutes, and throughout that period, Monty looked poised to hit his 6-iron for his approach.

Cleared to play, Monty changed his mind at the final moment, and grabbed 7-iron from his bag. Instantly, Johnny Miller in the booth said: “I’m surprised he’s just switched clubs when you’ve had 10 minutes to think about it.”

Monty took one practice swing with the 7-iron, pulled the trigger and played the worst shot of his life. Whatever the correct club was – the indecision, rushed strike and non-committal swing proved damning.

He would go on to make a sorry double bogey to miss out on a playoff by one stroke, and claimed afterwards that his last-second choice to hit 7-iron was fuelled by the belief that adrenaline would kick in.

On the most excruciating moment of his career, Monty would say years later that if Vijay Singh had hit the fairway and he had not had to wait and had so much time to overthink his approach shot he would have finally won that missing major. In his 2012 autobiography, Monty wrote about the shot saying:

“By the time it was my turn, I was beginning to second-guess myself. Was it a seven-iron? Was it not a six? Was it a big seven-iron or a little one? Did I detect a touch of wind?

Why did I hesitate on that backswing? I don’t exactly know anything more beyond the fact that my mind certainly wasn’t clear. I knew at the time that I had hesitated. It would have been possible to pull out of the swing since it wasn’t complete and that’s what I should have done. Stopped, regrouped and started all over again.”

Following his double bogey on the last, Monty made his way to the press center and put in a spirited performance with the media. You would never have thought he had just blown his big chance at winning a major, as he showed off his razor-sharp wit when a reporter asked him if he allowed himself to think about winning after holing his putt on 17, responding:

“No, you don’t think about winning when you’re one ahead with one to play, no. Not at all, no thoughts of victory at all. I was just having a Sunday game, just a game with Vijay, just a few thousand people watching, that was all.”

However, the reality of Montgomerie’s true feelings were far more raw. The defeat had begun to sink in when he boarded his flight home that evening. In his autobiography, Monty laid bare how he truly felt over his failure to capitalize on the opportunity he had waited his entire career for:

“I had a very bad flight home that night. I remember sitting there in a daze, not knowing what to say or do. I wasn’t crying. I had gone beyond that. I was incapable of any analysis. The same three words, ‘What just happened?’, kept going through my head.”

Turning 43 a few days later, Monty hoped that his close call would inspire more challenges at the majors later in his career. It didn’t. The 2006 U.S. Open would be the final time he would contend at a major, and it remains the ultimate heartbreak which will always haunt the Scot.

19th Hole

How much each player won at the 2026 Masters

Published

1 month ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Rory McIlroy made it two wins in as many years at Augusta National, seeing off the challengers on a dramatic Sunday to slip on the green jacket once again. The victory earned Rory a whopping payday of $4.5 million, with Scottie Scheffler his closest challenger earning $2.43 million for his sole runner-up finish.

With a total prize purse of $22.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Masters tournament.

For players that did not make the cut, they still earned $25k for their efforts at the year’s opening major.

1: Rory McIlroy, $4.5 million
2: Scottie Scheffler, $2.43 million
T3: Tyrrell Hatton, $1.08 million
T3: Russell Henley, $1.08 million
T3: Justin Rose, $1.08 million
T3: Cameron Young, $1.08 million
T7: Collin Morikawa, $725,625
T7: Sam Burns, $725,625
T9: Xander Schauffele, $630,00
T9: Max Homa, $630,00
11: Jake Knapp, $562,500
T12: Jordan Spieth, $427,500
T12: Brooks Koepka, $427,500
T12: Hideki Matsuyama, $427,500
T12: Patrick Reed, $427,500
T12: Patrick Cantlay, $427,500
T12: Jason Day, $427,500
T18: Viktor Hovland, $315,000
T18: Maverick McNealy, $315,000
T18: Matt Fitzpatrick, $315,000
T21: Keegan Bradley, $252,000
T21: Ludvig Aberg, $252,000
T21: Wyndham Clark, $252,000
T24: Matt McCarty, $182,083
T24: Adam Scott, $182,083
T24: Sam Stevens, $182,083
T24: Chris Gotterup, $182,083
T24: Michael Brennan, $182,083
T24: Brian Campbell, $182,083
T30: Alex Noren, $146,250
T30: Harris English, $146,250
T30: Shane Lowry, $146,250
T33: Gary Woodland, $121,500
T33: Dustin Johnson, $121,500
T33: Brian Harman, $121,500
T33: Tommy Fleetwood, $121,500
T33: Ben Griffin, $121,500
T38: Jon Rahm, $105,750
T38: Ryan Gerard, $101,250
T38: Haotong Li, $96,750
T41: Justin Thomas, $92,250
T41: Sepp Straka, $87,750
T41: Jacob Bridgeman, $83,250
T41: Kristoffer Reitan, $78,750
T41: Nick Taylor, $74,250
46: Sungjae Im, $69,750
47: Si Woo Kim, $65,250
48: Aaron Rai, $61,650
T49: Corey Conners, $57,600
T49: Marco Penge, $57,600
51: Kurt Kitayama, $55,250
52: Sergio Garcia, $54,000
53: Rasmus Hojgaard, $52,650
54: Charl Schwartzel, $51,300

19th Hole

CBS’s Sunday Masters coverage slammed by golf fans

Published

1 month ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

While Sunday was a dramatic day at the Masters, many golf fans were left feeling frustrated by the CBS final round coverage.

There were plenty of moments that golf fans took to social media to air their frustrations on Sunday over, including a lack of shots being shown throughout the day, being behind the live action, confusion over the approach shots of the final group on 18, and providing an angle for the winning putt where the cup couldn’t be seen.

Here’s a look at some of the criticisms that were directed at the CBS coverage throughout the day on X:

This has been a brutal broadcast for CBS. When the folks from Augusta sit down with them this year, you can bet they’ll talk about this 15 seconds where we have no idea where Rory’s ball went, and Dottie moans. #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/ak3mkpIN7V

— Ryan (@PossiblyRy) April 12, 2026

It’s rare criticism coming in for CBS, who are usually heavily praised for their Masters coverage each year.

19th Hole

The surprise club Tommy Fleetwood says is key to his Masters chances

Published

1 month ago

Apr 7, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Tommy Fleetwood goes in search for the first major victory of his career again this week, with the Englishman proving to be a popular pick at Augusta National.

Fleetwood’s best showing at Augusta came back in 2024 where he finished T3, and while speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, the 35-year-old emphasized the importance of his 9-wood in his pursuit of the green jacket.

Speaking on Tuesday to media, Fleetwood said:

“It’s a great 9-wood golf course. I think it’s always been — I can’t remember when I first put like a 9-wood in or a high lofted club, but it’s a perfect like 9-wood golf course. I’ve had that in the bag for a few years.”

The Englishman continued, revealing that his strategy for the week won’t just be to hit driver off the tee as much as possible:

“Yeah, it’s funny really because I know Augusta is probably associated with being fairly forgiving off the tee in a way, so you think you can whale around driver a little bit. But I don’t necessarily think that’s always the play for me. I think there’s holes that set up really well where I can draw it with the mini driver if I’m feeling less comfortable with the driver and things like that.”

That strategy he believes will make his TaylorMade Qi10 9-wood extra critical this week in Georgia:

“The biggest thing is the 9-wood for me. If I can put myself in position on the par-5s or the 4th long par-3, like it — for me, I can’t really hit that high 4-iron, so 9-wood helps me a lot.”