Golf fans, it’s time for the third major of the year, the US Open, and Bovada’s Sportsbook has all the bets to make it a memorable weekend beginning June 13th.
Despite last year’s US Open odds making him a longshot, Wyndham Clark won the trophy and added his name to a prestigious list of past winners.
But does he make our list of the Best US Open Shots of All Time?
Read on to find out…
View the latest Golf odds at Bovada
#10 – Tiger Woods 2008
With the first of his three appearances on this list, Tiger Woods brought the crowd to its feet at the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines.
Tiger battled a fractured leg and Rocco Mediate during the final round. On the 18th hole, needing a birdie to force a playoff, Woods hit a slippery 12-footer downhill and into the hole. The crowd erupted and Tiger roared with an iconic celebration, setting the stage for the Monday playoff which Woods would eventually win for his 14th major.
#9 – Hale Irwin 1990
Already a two-time US Open winner, Hale Irwin was hungry for another title but faced long odds on the final hole.
Irwin hit a 45-foot putt to eventually enter into a playoff against Mike Donald at Medinah. And not just an ordinary 45-footer (if there is such a thing). This required hitting a ball that navigated a good-sized hill before evening out on its way to the hole.
But Irwin hit it pure, and his celebration with fans around the green remains one of golf’s most iconic moments. He became the US Open’s oldest winner, having gotten into that year’s event only with a special exemption.
#8 – Payne Stewart 1999
The 2024 US Open will be held at Pinehurst No. 2, and in 1999 the same course hosted its inaugural US Open.
The late Payne Stewart played the course as though it were his home track, however, reading the greens perfectly over the final three holes in a battle with Phil Mickelson. The two players have been tied or within one stroke of each other since the 7th hole.
It took nerves of steel for Stewart to knock a long 18-footer on the 18th and final hole for a birdie and the win. It was the third and, sadly, final major for Stewart, as he passed away later that same year.
#7 – Justin Thomas 2017
During the third round at Erin Hills, Justin Thomas carded a scorching 63, a record for 18 holes at the US Open relative to par. (Five other players did hit 63 before Thomas, but he was on a par 72 while the others were 71 or 70).
You don’t shoot a 63 without a magical shot or two. JT’s came on a birdie putt at the par-4 5th from the fringe, about 20 feet from the hole.
Thomas hit his shot at a 90-degree angle from the hole and watched it turn on a dime as he played the slope perfectly before gliding into the center of the cup.
#6 – Tiger Woods 2000
In a year that was peak Tiger, one of his major wins came at the US Open at Pebble Beach. It was the first of four straight major wins, aka the Tiger Slam.
And during that event, with a shot that was also peak Tiger, he left fans and viewers stunned.
Woods’ drive missed the fairway and fell into the notoriously thick US Open rough. No matter. He hit his second shot from 202 yards out, over a tree, and way up a hill that left no chance of seeing the green. He launched his 7-iron well over the tree and the ball ended up on the green on his way to a massive 15-stroke victory.
#5 – Matt Fitzpatrick 2022
In a 3-way battle for the US Open title on Sunday at The Country Club in Massachusetts with Will Zalatoris and Scottie Scheffler, Matt Fitzpatrick found himself in a fairway bunker on the 18th hole.
Fitzpatrick remained composed amidst the lively crowd trailing him to the bunker, even as they encircled him and required intervention from law enforcement. Moreover, he showed no concern about his lack of prior PGA Tour victories..
He simply flushed a 9-iron and then made an easy birdie putt that gave him the lead and, a few minutes later, the win.
#4 – Jack Nicklaus 1972
With his third US Open title at stake, Jack Nicklaus hit a shot with a club whose very name sends shivers down the spines of most weekend golfers: the dreaded 1-iron.
This club isn’t even in most golfers’ bags, and for good reason. It’s notoriously tough to hit, and many of today’s hybrid clubs do the same work with much more success.
But the Golden Bear, at Pebble Beach for the 1972 US Open, pulled the 1-iron out on the par-3 17th on the final day – the same site as Watson’s chip-in we mentioned earlier.
Blustery oceanside conditions required a low shot, and Nicklaus hit it perfectly, hitting the pin and nearly making a hole-in-one before tapping it in for a birdie and a 3-shot advantage heading into the final hole.
#3 – Tiger Woods 2003
Although Jim Furyk took home the US Open title in 2003 at Olympia Fields, winning by three strokes, the stroke of the tournament goes to Tiger Woods.
Standing 247 yards away with a tree firmly blocking a direct shot to the hole on the sixth, Woods opted to not play it safe with a layup. Instead, with an intentionally sharp slice, he hammered a 3-wood around the tree that came to rest on the green just 15 feet from the hole.
‘Bend It Like Beckham’ was released a year earlier and might have served as inspiration for Woods’ masterful stroke. Bend it Like Woods could have been the name of that shot.
#2 – Tom Watson 1982
Gunning for his first (and what would turn out to be his only) US Open title, Tom Watson was in tough shape in the rough at Pebble Beach’s 17th hole.
Battling the legendary Nicklaus for the lead, Watson boldly told his caddie that not only was he going to hit it close, he was going to hit it in.
Watson’s tee shot found deep rough and the green was downhill – if he missed, he risked a bogey or worse.
Instead, his confidence was as big as his bell-bottoms (check the tape), and he smoothly got it up and down in one shot. Soon after, he was the US Open Champion.
#1 – Larry Nelson, 1983
Just one year after Watson’s epic shot, Larry Nelson would come up with additional US Open magic on his way to winning the tournament.
At the famed Oakmont course in Pennsylvania, Nelson wasn’t even in the final pairing on Sunday. In fact, he barely cut it two days earlier. But a 65 on Saturday put him in contention, and on the 16th hole, he made a putt that most golfers can only dream of.
Standing 60 feet away, tied with the much more famous and accomplished Watson at the start of the hole, Nelson sent his ball left, and it curled perfectly into the center of the cup for a one-shot lead that would stand as the difference on his way to his only US Open title.
Will the 2024 US Open bring us more epic golf shots? We know that Scheffler, McIlroy, Schauffele, and others will end up on a list like this someday, but who really knows?
What we do know is that Bovada’s got all the golf action you need to make your iconic moments.
Earn $$$ for every friend you refer to Bovada!