Former Masters champion reveals the Tiger Woods strike that became the 'best shot Ernie Els has ever seen'

Tiger Woods pulled off an extraordinary shot at the 2002 PGA Championship. More than two decades later, 2008 Masters champion Trevor Immelman reflected on the strike by the former World No.1.

The shot came on the 18th hole at the Hazeltine National during the second round of the 2002 PGA Championship. Tiger Woods' ball landed in a fairway bunker, however, he made a precision shot with his 3-iron, which landed about 20 feet from the pin. He went on to drain the putt for birdie.

Immelman quoted a clip of Woods' shot posted by the official page of the PGA Championship and wrote:

"Ernie Els, who was playing with TW, told me this was the best shot he's ever seen."

For the unversed, Ernie Els is a four-time major champion and has 79 professional wins in his professional golf career, including 19 on the PGA Tour. The shot is not just Ernie Els' favourite but also that of Tiger Woods himself. In 2023, when he was asked about the greatest golf shot he's ever hit, he said:

"Probably the 2002 PGA on the 18th hole from the fairway bunker. I had three iron out of there. Hard left to right wind. My heels are up against the back of the lip of the bunker. I've never felt contact that solid in my life."

Tiger Woods posted scores of 71, 69, 72 and 67 in the four rounds of the 2002 PGA Championship, finishing at 9-under. He finished as a runner-up by one stroke to Rich Beem.

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A look at Tiger Woods' PGA Championship record

Tiger Woods has had 23 starts at the PGA Championship so far. In 23 tournaments, he has made 18 cuts with four wins and three runner-up finishes. He has had nine top-10 finishes and 11 top-25 finishes.

His first win at the PGA Championship came in 1999 by one stroke over Sergio Garcia. He defended his title in 2000 in the playoffs against Bob May. His third win came in 2006, when he won by five strokes over Shaun Micheel. His fourth and final win came in 2007 by two strokes over Moody Austin.

Let's take a look at Tiger Woods' performances at the PGA Championship in his 23 starts with scores:

• 1997: T29 (286, +6)
• 1998: T10 (279, −1)
• 1999: 1st (277, −11)
• 2000: 1st (270, −18)
• 2001: T29 (279, −1)
• 2002: 2nd (279, −9)
• 2003: T39 (292, +12)
• 2004: T24 (286, −2)
• 2005: T4 (278, −2)
• 2006: 1st (270, −18)
• 2007: 1st (272, −8)
• 2009: 2nd (283, −5)
• 2010: T28 (286, −2)
• 2011: Missed Cut (150, +10)
• 2012: T11 (286, −2)
• 2013: T40 (284, +4)
• 2014: Missed Cut (148, +6)
• 2015: Missed Cut (148, +4)
• 2018: 2nd (266, −14)
• 2019: Missed Cut (145, +5)
• 2020: T37 (279, −1)
• 2022: Withdrew after the third round
• 2024: Missed Cut (149, +7)