On This Day: Tiger Woods wins his fourth Masters Tournament

With the NBA, MLB, NHL and other major sports leagues and sporting events suspended or canceled, on a daily basis, we will revisit some of the most unforgettable games and sports moments in history. Welcome to On This Day.

Tiger Woods might not have the most major victories in PGA history, with that honor belonging to the great Jack Nicklaus.

But when it comes down to one person being the most dominant golfer in PGA Tour history, Tiger Woods has to lead the discussion.

By 2005, Woods had already accumulated eight PGA Tour major championships and had established himself as not only the best golfer of his generation but as one of the best professional golfers in the history of the sport at only 29 years old.

Still, he entered the 2005 Masters in search of answers. His last major championship was in 2002 at the U.S. Open, so in a way he was slumping by his own lofty standards. He had won at least one major every year from 1999 through 2002. He needed a breakthrough — a way to reassert his dominance over the field and remind himself of his own greatness.

The 2005 Masters seemed to be that moment. Throughout the tournament, Woods had done enough to win. But Chris DiMarco matched him the entire way, which led to a playoff to crown the champion. What would result is one of the most iconic shots of Woods legendary career and in the history of professional golf:

15 years ago today Tiger Woods (+350) hit arguably the most iconic shot of his storied career.

This chip-in on 16 in the final round of The Masters would help him go on to win in a 1-hole playoff, earning his fourth of five green jackets.
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— Barstool Bets (@barstoolbets) April 10, 2020

This victory secured Tiger his fourth green jacket at Augusta National which would tie him with the great Arnold Palmer for, at the time, the second most in tournament history.

Woods would go on to win a fifth Masters in 2019 to break the tie with Palmer, placing him one behind Nicklaus.

Woods himself has stated that the shot at 16 against DiMarco holds up as one of the best of his career due to the circumstances.

“It was one of the best ones I ever hit, at the time.” said Woods. “Because of the moment, the situation, Chris looks like he’s probably going to make birdie there and I probably look like I’m going to make bogie. So to be able to kind of turn things around there is pretty huge.”