If the best shots in golf are rarely the most decisive, it sometimes happens that they coincide with a key moment in a tournament. Here are the 5 shots that made the difference during the 2022 season.
Golf, Top 5
With this exceptional shot 3 of more than 250 meters facing the sun, Hideki Matsuyama is close to perfection in the play-off of the Sony Open. On the course of the Waialae Country Club in Hawaii at the beginning of the year, the Japanese offers himself a magic eagle by depositing his ball 60 centimeters from the hole which leaves no chance to his opponent Russel Henley!
Australian Cam Smith has been close to the summits almost all year. Winner of the Tournament of Champions in January, he won again in March at the Players Championship in Ponte Vedra on the course of the TPC Sawgrass and its famous green on the island of hole n°17.
With two shots ahead and two holes to play, we expect to see the mule-cut player calmly aiming for the middle of the green on this terribly stressful shot. The Australian’s ball comes out slightly to the right towards the flag placed in the right corner and flirts with the water hazard before coming to rest less than 2 meters from the hole. Gorgeous.
When Matt Fitzpatrick slightly rolls his last faceoff at Brookline 18 in the US Open, we think he has just opened the door wide to a play-off for his most tenacious opponent in the 3rd major of the year. , Will Zalatoris. But that was without counting on the dexterity of the Englishman from Sheffield, author of a masterful exit from the bunker synonymous with the first English success in the American Open since Tony Jacklin in 1970!
A month later it is still to Cam Smith that we owe one of the most beautiful last major tours. This time it is with his favorite weapon that the Australian shines. The Brisbane player’s immaculate putting performed wonders on the firm, sun-scorched greens of St Andrews in the 4th round of The Open. At the famous Road Hole, hole 17 of the Old Course, Smith stayed short of the green and seemed trapped by the diabolical position of the flag just behind the very deep “pot bunker” which bars the entrance to the green.
Put under pressure by Rory McIlroy who will putt for birdie, Smith must at all costs make the par. Playing a wedge seems impossible. By choosing to putt, Smtih takes the risk of not printing the necessary speed or frankly going beyond the hole. But the Australian, touched by grace this Sunday in July, measures his putter stroke to perfection. The ball hugs the slope of the foregreen and comes to rest just over 3 meters from the hole. Smith obviously returned the next putt and kept a lead at the start of the 18th on which he signed a birdie, just as decisive, to claim his first victory in a grand slam!
In a less prestigious tournament Max Homa emerged victorious from the 72nd green after an incredible outcome. Badly embarked the American first returns a complicated chip for the par after a failed bunker exit. His opponent Danny Willett is 1 meter from the hole with a clear birdie opportunity and victory is in his hands. Unfortunately the Englishman is visibly stunned by the small feat accomplished by his rival and misses his attempt. His return putt to go into the play-off did not see the hole and Max Homa almost miraculously retained his title acquired the previous year.
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