When Tiger Woods revealed the 'best shot' he ever hit: "Never felt contact that solid in my life"

Tiger Woods revealed the best shot he ever hit in his career was at the 2002 PGA Tour Championship. Woods has not played in any PGA Tour tournament in 2025, and his last PGA Tour tournament was in 2024 at the Open Championship. In a 2023 YouTube video by the brand TaylorMade, Woods was asked about the best shot in his PGA Tour career.

In response, Woods mentioned a shot on the 18th hole during the 2002 PGA Championship. His words were:

“Probably the 2002 PGA on the 18th hole from the third bunker I hit 3-iron out there. Hard left to right wind and my heels are up against the back of the lip of the bunker. I have never felt contact that solid in my life.”

Tiger Woods fell short by one shot from victory at the 2002 PGA Championship. Woods' score was 9 under after four rounds, and he fired 71 in the first round with three birdies and two bogeys. He scored 69 in the second round with three birdies on the front nine and one birdie on the back nine. In the third and fourth rounds, Woods fired 72 and 67 with one birdie and seven birdies, respectively. In 2002, Woods lost the PGA Championship title, but he won the Masters Tournament and the US Open.

How did Tiger Woods perform at the 2002 Masters Tournament and the US Open?

Tiger Woods triumphed at the Masters Tournament in 2002 with 12 under. He fired 70 in the first round with three birdies on the front nine and two on the back nine. In the next round, he shot 69 with three birdies. In the fourth and fifth rounds, the golfer fired 66 and 71 with seven and four birdies, respectively.

After the match, Woods joined a press conference at Augusta National and shared his playing experience. He stated ( via ASAP Sports):

“Today was a tough day, with the conditions being, again, different. You know, with Vijay and Phil ahead of me, getting off to some pretty good starts; Retief did not really play as well as he wanted to early. But the golf course was playing so difficult early today, conditions that we were not accustomed to, and I just tried to stay as patient as possible today. I hit some good shots and made a couple good putts when I absolutely needed them, and just really hung around and I was able to outlast the guys today.”

Tiger Woods also came out victorious at the 2002 US Open. He shot 67 in the first round with five birdies and 68 in the second round with four birdies. In the third and fourth rounds, he fired 70 and 72 with two birdies in each round. His final score was 3 under the tournament.

About the author

Suchita Chakraborty is a senior golf writer at Sportskeeda. She did her post-graduation at St. Xavier's University. For a year now, she has developed a riveting inclination toward golf, with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy being her top-tier motivational figures to indulge in the sport. She even lives by the words of the Hall of Famer, "You can always become better", which impels her to excel every day. Her strong suit in golf is covering the LPGA Tour, especially the nooks and crannies of the international event, the Solheim Cup. As a pastime amusement, Suchita also engages herself in reading about golf controversies. Her favorite pick is ‘LIV and Let Die’ by Alan Shipnuck, which covers the PGA-LIV beef.

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Edited by pranavsethii