Sports
Twenty years ago, Tiger Woods' chip shot hung in the balance, and a Masters moment was created
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Funny how time works.
Twenty years seems so short.
And 1.8 seconds seems so long.
That’s how long the golf ball that Tiger Woods hit teetered on the edge of the 16th hole at Augusta National in 2005 before tumbling into the cup — nearly two agonizing seconds — his chip-in the signature moment of his fourth Masters victory.
That Sunday miracle from behind the green ricocheted around the sports world, not only because of the transcendent player who made it but because the ball lingered on the lip just long enough to theatrically display its Nike swoosh, which was tilted vertically, before disappearing into the cup.
“Maybe the greatest shot in the history of the game,” CBS announcer Jim Nantz said. “Arguably the most commercialized and most seen.”
His network colleague Verne Lundquist, greenside at 16, was gobsmacked.
“Using all of my language skills, when it fell in I went, ‘Oh, wow,’” the retired Lundquist said this week with a chuckle. “Just relying on my vast vocabulary.”
The full call — viewed untold millions of times on a wide array of platforms — was, “Oh, wow! In your life have you ever seen anything like that!”
The behind-the-scenes story with CBS involved a truckload of intuition and a bit of insubordination, resulting in one of the great moments in televised sports. That a full two decades have passed is hard for the 84-year-old Lundquist to believe.
“Dear God,” he said, “has it been 20 years?”
The Situation
It was the final round of the 2005 Masters and Woods was battling down the stretch with Chris DiMarco, the two jostling atop the leaderboard. They got to the par-three 16th, where the Sunday pin position was in the back left of the green, just over a ridge. Woods was clinging to a one-shot lead after bogeys on the previous two holes.
Woods hit a poor tee shot that sailed long and left of the green that wound up on the fringe and left him with a nearly impossible chip, downhill, slick as a greased garage floor, with a severe left-to-right break.
His caddie, Steve Williams, didn’t know what to expect as they made their way off the tee. As he and Woods got closer to the green, Williams glanced up to tour pro-turned-analyst Ian Baker-Finch, who was in the tower at 15.
“I motioned to Ian, ‘Is he OK?’ and he gave me the thumbs up,” Williams recalled.
OK? Yes, but in a terrible position — especially considering DiMarco had hit his tee shot to within 5 feet of the cup.
The Shot
Woods and Williams took a long time surveying the situation, discussing the slope, speed and what the ball might do with spin. The idea, Williams said, was to land the ball 30 to 40 feet right of the hole, then let gravity do the work.
“He picked out a ball mark on the green and said, ‘Do you think if I landed on that ball mark it won’t pick up too much speed as it goes up the hill?’” Williams said. “I said, ‘That looks pretty good,’ and amazingly he landed right on that ball mark … and the rest was history.”
When the shot reached its apex on the slope, it made a hard right turn and meandered down to the cup, pausing for what felt like an eternity before tumbling in. Woods erupted, raising his fists in front of him as if curling an imaginary barbell, and the gallery behind him unleashed a roar.
“I was in a tower at 18,” Nantz recalled. “It felt like the ground was shaking all the way up there.”
The Decision
The drama of that 1.8 seconds of television almost didn’t happen. Steve Milton, who was directing the CBS broadcast, thought the ball was done rolling. He instructed technical director Norm Patterson to switch to an angle capturing Woods’ reaction, and away from the camera of Bob Wishnie, who had the ball perfectly in frame.
But Patterson ignored that order, instead staying on the ball for a couple more beats.
“Norm just followed his instincts,” Lundquist said. “And because he did, everybody remembers the shot.”
That was no casual decision on Patterson’s part.
“That’s a fireable offense,” Lundquist said. “It’s like being on the bridge of a ship and ignoring the captain’s orders.”
In a Golf.com article five years ago, Milton recalled those tense moments.
“I said, ‘OK, let’s cut,’ and Norm didn’t cut,” the director told the website. “He waited. He paused.”
The ball fell in the cup, and both Milton and Patterson exhaled.
“Thank you, Norm,” Milton said.
“Steve,” Patterson said, “we’re a great team.”
The Aftermath
Woods went on to win his fourth of five green jackets in a sudden-death playoff with DiMarco, and that shot was one of the most iconic and viewed moments of his storied career.
“I remember seeing the video later after I holed that shot, and there was a gentleman in back,” Woods recalled in 2019. “He just slams his hat on the ground.”
Of course, the overwhelming majority of the patrons behind him exploded with cheers.
The gallery celebrates after Tiger Woods makes a birdie putt at No. 18 in the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to win the 2005 Masters.
(Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“That’s fun,” he said. “It’s exciting to be part of situations like that, that people will look back on my career and say, ‘I saw him pull that shot off.’”
The chip-in plays a prominent role in “Together We Roared,” a recently released autobiography by Williams and sportswriter Evin Priest about the caddie’s glorious run carrying the bag for Woods.
“We tried to give the reader a backstage pass to arguably one of the greatest periods of golf played by anybody,” Williams said.
Almost immediately, Nike cut that footage of the shot into a commercial.
Tragically, Patterson died of an apparent heart attack less than a year later while in San Diego to cover a golf tournament. He was 45.
Lundquist, who retired last year, counts the drama on the 16th hole as one of the great highlights of his career.
“Tiger and I have a relationship because of that shot,” he said. “He said at a news conference, ‘The two of us will be tied at the hip together because of what I did and how he described it.’
“I treasure those comments.”
Twenty years, 1.8 seconds, yet forever timeless.
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Russell Wilson and Sean Payton spent just one NFL season together, but tension lingered after a rocky year.
And it appears the tension that built up from that tumultuous stretch continues to linger.
Wilson’s interview on the “Bussin’ With the Boys” podcast, recorded before last month’s Super Bowl between Seattle and New England, recently resurfaced.
In the interview, Wilson doubled down on his October comment labeling Payton “classless,” saying he felt slighted by his former coach’s remarks.
Head coach Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos talks to quarterback Russell Wilson on the sideline during an NFL preseason football game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium Aug. 11, 2023, in Glendale, Ariz. (Ryan Kang/Getty Images)
“[When] you’ve been on the same side or this and that, and I got the same amount of rings as you got, meaning Sean, right?” said Wilson, who won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks as Payton did coaching for the New Orleans Saints.
“I got a lot of respect for him as a play-caller, this and that, but to take a shot, I don’t like. I don’t think it’s necessary, you know, I mean, especially when I’m not even on your own team anymore. So, for me, there’s a point in time where you have to, I’ve realized, I’ve stayed quiet for so long. There’s a there’s a time and place where I’m not.
“I know who I am as a competitor, as a warrior, as a champion, too, and, you know, I’ve beaten Sean, too. You know, like we’ve been on the same place and the same thing. And so, it’s not a matter of disrespect. Just don’t disrespect me.”
Sean Payton and Russell Wilson of the Denver Broncos during an a game against the Minnesota Vikings at Empower Field at Mile High Nov. 19, 2023, in Denver, Colo. (Ryan Kang/Getty Images)
After a rocky one-year stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024, Wilson joined the New York Giants last offseason. However, he was relegated to a backup role after just three games.
Rookie Jaxson Dart quickly showed promise once he had the chance to start, but his season was briefly derailed by injury. Jameis Winston — not Wilson — stepped in for Dart in a handful of games. Dart threw three touchdowns in a Week 7 matchup with the Broncos, nearly pulling off an upset in what was eventually a close loss.
After the game, Payton said Dart provided a “spark” to the Giants’ offense.
“I was talking to [Giants owner] John Mara not too long ago, and I said, ‘We were hoping that that change would have happened long after our game,’” Payton said.
The New York Giants’ Russell Wilson attempts to escape a sack by Dallas Cowboys defensive end James Houston (53) in the first half of a game Sept. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Payton also said the Broncos would have faced less of a challenge had Wilson been under center.
“Classless … but not surprised,” Wilson responded in a social media post. “Didn’t realize you’re still bounty hunting 15+ years later though the media.”
Despite last season’s struggles and chatter about his football future, Wilson does not appear ready to call it quits in 2026.
“I wanna play a few more years for sure,” he said. “I think, for me, I’ve always had the vision of getting to 40, at least. I think the game is different. Quarterbacks, we get hit. It’s not, you know, we get hit hard, but … there’s certain rules. I mean, back in the day when I started, bro, it was you just get [clobbered].
“I mean, so I feel like the game allows you to, you know, live a little longer, I guess. I feel healthy. I feel great. But I think, more than anything else is, do you love the game? Do you love studying? Do you love the passion for it all? Do you love the process? Do you love the practice? Do you love — everybody loves the winning part of it, but it’s process. There’s a journey that you got to be obsessed with. And that part I’m obsessed with.”
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The early rounds of the BNP Paribas Open began Wednesday, with top seeds slated to start play Friday during the 12-day ATP and WTPA Master 1000 tournament.
A busy stretch of the tennis season reaches another gear at Indian Wells Tennis Garden, the second largest outdoor tennis stadium in the world.
While many consider it the “fifth Grand Slam” because of its elite player field, amenities and equal prize money for men and women, professionals acknowledge the tournament is part of a stressful stretch on the tennis calendar.
Indian Wells is followed by the Miami Open, another two-week Master 1000 tournament. The tour stops are known as the “Sunshine Double.”
Some players made the short trip from Indian Wells to Las Vegas this past weekend to participate in the MGM Grand Slam, an exhibition designed to help players ramp up for back-to-back tournaments.
American Reilly Opelka, a 6-foot–11 pro, said managing fatigue after a series of tournaments before hitting Indian Wells has altered his practice and play in exhibition matches, including a loss to 19-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca in Las Vegas.
“Normally in any kind of competition, you get excited and play with a pressure point … but you don’t feel this when you are practicing,” Opelka said.
“I was trying to feel like this a few days ago while practicing with … [Tommy Paul,] but instead we got tired and hungry. … That usually doesn’t happen. We just decided to stop and go to eat somewhere.”
Paul said despite the decision to cut practice short, he feels fresh for the upcoming events.
“I started the year pretty well and for Americans, we are excited for the Sunshine Double,” Paul said.
Casper Rudd lost to Opelka during the first round of the Las Vegas exhibition. The Norwegian also lost a week ago during the first round of the Acapulco Open, falling to Chinese qualifier Yibing Wu in straight sets.
Rudd said he felt “extremely tired” after the Australian Open in January.
Rancho Palo Verdes resident Taylor Fritz, ranked No. 7 in the world, said the best way to prepare yourself for grueling tour schedule is “putting [in] the time, work and repetition.”
“… Be there, be focused on the quality that you are doing,” said Fritz, a 28-year-old who won the Indian Wells title in 2022.
While some players are guarding against burnout, others struggled to even reach California. Some players who live in Dubai, including Russians Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, have to contend with closed airspace triggered by the U.S. and Israel bombing Iran.
The ATP announced Wednesday that, “the vast majority of players who were in Dubai have successfully departed today on selected flights.”
Sports
Law firm fighting for women’s sports in SCOTUS battle comments on ruling possibly impacting SJSU trans lawsuit
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A law firm leading the charge in the ongoing Supreme Court case over trans athletes in women’s sports has responded after a federal judge suggested the case’s ruling could impact a separate case involving a similar issue.
Colorado District Judge Kato Crews deferred ruling in motions to dismiss former San Jose State volleyball co-captain Brooke Slusser’s lawsuit against the California State University (CSU) system until after a ruling in the B.P.J. v. West Virginia Supreme Court case, which is expected to come in June.
Slusser filed the lawsuit against representatives of her school and the Mountain West Conference in fall 2024 after she allegedly was made to share bedrooms and changing spaces with trans teammate Blaire Fleming for a whole season without being informed that Fleming is a biological male.
Meanwhile, the B.P.J. case went to the Supreme Court after a trans teen sued West Virginia to block the state’s law that prevents males from competing in girls’ high school sports.
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is the primary law firm defending West Virginia in that case at the Supreme Court, and has now responded to news that Slusser’s lawsuit could be affected by the SCOTUS ruling.
“We hope the ruling from the Supreme Court will affirm that Title IX was designed to guarantee equal opportunity for women, not to let male athletes displace women and girl in competition. It is crucial that sports be separated by sex for not only the equal opportunity of women but for safety and privacy. Title IX should protect women’s right to compete in their own sports. Allowing men to compete in the female category reverses 50 years of advancement for women,” ADF Vice President of Litigation Strategies Jonathan Scruggs said.
Slusser’s attorney, Bill Bock of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, expects a Supreme Court ruling in favor of the legal defense representing West Virginia, thus helping his case.
(Left) Brooke Slusser (10) of the San Jose State Spartans serves the ball during the first set against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Court at East Gym in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Oct. 19, 2024. (Right) Blaire Fleming #3 of the San Jose State Spartans looks on during the third set against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Court at East Gym on October 19, 2024 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. ( Andrew Wevers/Getty Images; Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)
“We’re looking forward to the case going forward,” Bock told Fox News Digital.
“I believe that the court is going to find that Title IX operates on the basis of biological sex, without regard to an assumed or professed gender, and so just like the congress and the members of congress that passed Title IX in 1972, allowed this specifically provided for in the regulations that there had to be separate men’s and women’s teams based on biological sex, I think the court is going to see that is the original meaning of the statute and apply it in that way, and I think it’s going to be a big win in women’s sports.”
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared prepared to rule in favor of West Virginia after oral arguments on Jan. 13.
Slusser spoke on the steps of the Supreme Court on Jan. 13 while oral arguments took place inside, sharing her experience with a divided crowd of opposing protesters.
With Fleming on its roster, SJSU reached the 2024 conference final by virtue of a forfeit by Boise State in the semifinal round. SJSU lost in the final to Colorado State.
Slusser went on to develop an eating disorder due to the anxiety and trauma from the scandal and dropped out of her classes the following semester. The eating disorder became so severe, that Slusser said she lost her menstrual cycle for nine months. Her decision to drop her classes resulted in the loss of her scholarship, and her parents said they had to foot the bill out of pocket for an unfinished final semester of college.
President Donald Trump’s Department of Education determined in January that SJSU violated Title IX in its handling of the situation involving Fleming, and has given the university an ultimatum to agree to a series of resolutions or face a referral to the Department of Justice.
Among the department’s findings, it determined that a female athlete discovered that the trans student allegedly conspired to have a member of an opposing team spike her in the face during a match. ED claims that “SJSU did not investigate the conspiracy, but later subjected the female athlete to a Title IX complaint for ‘misgendering’ the male athlete in online videos and interviews.”
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SJSU trans player Blaire Fleming and teammate Brooke Slusser went to a magic show and had Thanksgiving together in Las Vegas despite an ongoing lawsuit over Fleming being transgender. (Thien-An Truong/San Jose State Athletics)
SJSU Athletic Director Jeff Konya told Fox News Digital in a July interview that he was satisfied with how the university handled the situation involving Fleming.
“I think everybody acted in the best possible way they could, given the circumstances,” Konya said.
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