It was a shot you’d expect to see performed by a Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan. Or even by Roy McAvoy in “Tin Cup.”
The shot was so preposterously good, only Hollywood could have come up with something so dramatic.
Shaun Micheel, the no-name McAvoy-like character at Oak Hill this weekend, faced a 7-iron from 175 yards on the 18th hole Sunday. Holding a one-shot lead over a charging Chad Campbell, Micheel couldn’t afford a mistake.
Micheel swung and then yelled “Be right” as the ball flew toward the hole. It was dead right, nestling to within 2 inches of the hole to set up a clinching tap-in birdie.
The latest entry for best clutch shot ever made Micheel the unlikely winner of the PGA Championship. His round of 70 put him at 4 under, two shots ahead of Campbell.
Micheel now joins British Open champion Ben Curtis on the short list of biggest surprises in majors history. He came into Oak Hill ranked No. 169 in the world and winless on the PGA Tour.
After Micheel saw how difficult Oak Hill was during practice rounds, he was just hoping to make it to the weekend.
“I can’t believe that this happened to me,” Micheel said. “I was just trying to make the cut. I know that sounds pretty simple, but really, that was my main goal. I probably would have been happy with that.”
Micheel made the cut and much more. He actually slept on the lead for two nights after surging ahead in the second round. That’s no small feat in a major, especially for a 34-year old journeyman with little on his resume.
Micheel, though, refused to relent. He ultimately saved his best for last.
Micheel thought he had taken control of the tournament after making a birdie on No. 14 to open a three-shot lead. But Campbell wouldn’t concede. The combination of a Campbell birdie on 15 and a Micheel bogey on 17 cut the margin to a stroke.
The 18th hole is the toughest on the course. Micheel seemed more likely to make a bogey than a birdie.
With Campbell safely in the fairway, Micheel seemed bound for disaster when his drive started heading for the rough. But a generous kick to the right put him on the first cut of rough. The ball stopped on what Micheel termed “the perfect number” for his 7-iron.
Micheel actually wasn’t aiming for the pin. He wanted something right or a little long to leave him a two-putt for a par. Fortunately for Micheel, he was just a bit off target.
“Maybe I don’t give myself enough credit, but when that ball was in the air, all I was asking for was to just carry it to the front of the green,” said Micheel, an All-American at Indiana. “My main focus was hit the ball solid, and I was going to do anything I could to do that. I think I made a pretty good swing.”
It easily was his best swing ever under pressure. Asked to recall if he had any other similar clutch shots, Micheel said he once holed out a 6-iron on the last hole to make the cut in a Hooters Tour event.
This one was a few million cuts above. It joins Tom Watson’s chip-in at Pebble Beach during the 1982 U.S. Open and Hale Irwin’s 60-footer at No. 18 at Medinah during the 1990 U.S. Open on the honor roll of the most memorable shots in recent majors history.
There wasn’t much Campbell could do but admire what Micheel pulled off.
“That’s pretty good to hit it up there where it’s a no-brainer [putt],” Campbell said.
“That would probably be the best shot I’ve seen under pressure.”
Micheel felt pressure Sunday. Even in victory, he was tough on himself. He lamented that he saw “too many squares,” meaning bogeys, on his card.
“I know I shot the lowest score, but inside I’m wishing I could have played a bit better,” he said.
Perhaps that attitude comes from years of coming up short. He isn’t used to being a winner.
Micheel admitted all he wanted to do was win a PGA Tour event.
Now he has won a major by hitting a shot for the ages.
Like Curtis before him, Micheel knows his life will change.
“I don’t know what’s in store,” Micheel said. “I hope to have some guidance. I know that Rich Beem (the unlikely 2002 PGA champion) has spoken about someone giving him a manual on how to handle things. I just hope I can represent the PGA of America in a professional and humble manner.”
Final results
At Rochester, N.Y., final round, par-70, 7,134-yard, Oak Hill Country Club
276 (-4) $1,080,000
Shaun Micheel 69-68-69-70
278 (-2) $480,000
Chad Campbell 69-72-65-72
279 (-1) $408,000
Timothy Clark 72-70-68-69
280 (even) $288,000
Alex Cejka 74-69-68-69
282 (+2) $214,000
Jay Haas 70-74-69-69
Ernie Els 71-70-70-71
284 (+4) $175,666
Loren Roberts 70-73-70-71
Fred Funk 69-73-70-72
Mike Weir 68-71-70-75
285 (+5) $135,500
Niclas Fasth 76-70-71-68
Kenny Perry 75-72-70-68
Charles Howell III 70-72-70-73
Billy Andrade 67-72-72-74
286 (+6) $98,250
Scott McCarron 74-70-71-71
Tim Herron 69-72-74-71
Rod Pampling 66-74-73-73
Robert Gamez 70-73-70-73
287 (+7) $73,000
Rocco Mediate 72-74-71-70
Jim Furyk 72-74-69-72
Carlos Franco 73-73-69-72
Kevin Sutherland 69-74-71-73
Toshimitsu Izawa 71-72-71-73
288 (+8) $52,000
Stuart Appleby 74-73-71-70
Luke Donald 73-72-71-72
Adam Scott 72-69-72-75
Phil Mickelson 66-75-72-75
289 (+9) $43,000
Geoff Ogilvy 71-71-77-70
Woody Austin 72-73-69-75
290 (+10) $36,600
David Toms 75-72-71-72
Todd Hamilton 70-74-73-73
Peter Lonard 74-74-69-73
Padraig Harrington 72-76-69-73
Frank Lickliter II 71-72-71-76
291 (+11) $29,000
Jesper Parnevik 73-72-72-74
J.L. Lewis 71-75-71-74
Fred Couples 74-71-72-74
Lee Janzen 68-74-72-77
Vijay Singh 69-73-70-79
292 (+12) $22,000
Joe Durant 71-76-75-70
Mark Calcavecchia 73-71-76-72
Robert Allenby 70-77-73-72
Tiger Woods 74-72-73-73
Hal Sutton 75-71-67-79
Briny Baird 73-71-67-81
293 (+13) $17,500
Angel Cabrera 71-76-72-74
Duffy Waldorf 70-75-72-76
Tom Pernice Jr. 70-71-72-80
294 (+14) $14,733
Ben Crane 73-73-76-72
Trevor Immelman 74-70-77-73
Shigeki Maruyama 75-72-73-74
295 (+15) $13,320
Jose Maria Olazabal 74-74-76-71
Brian Gay 74-74-75-72
Jose Coceres 73-68-78-76
Len Mattiace 74-70-75-76
Gary Evans 74-74-71-76
296 (+16) $12,700
Chris DiMarco 74-71-78-73
297 (+17) $12,450
Bernhard Langer 75-72-75-75
Scott Hoch 75-72-73-77
Bob Estes 71-76-73-77
Aaron Baddeley 69-77-73-78
298 (+18) $12,000
Billy Mayfair 76-72-78-72
Eduardo Romero 77-71-76-74
Phil Tataurangi 72-71-78-77
Ian Poulter 72-75-72-79
Jonathan Kaye 74-73-72-79
299 (+19) $11,700
Paul Casey 79-69-75-76
300 (+20) $11,600
Bob Burns 72-76-70-82
302 (+22) $11,500
Rory Sabbatini 71-75-75-81
304 (+24) $11,350
K.J. Choi 74-74-80-76
Michael Campbell 74-71-80-79
PGA winners
The year, winner, course and final score of the PGA Championship since
it became stroke play:
YR GOLFER COURSE SC
2003 Shaun Micheel Oak Hill 276
2002 Rich Beem Hazeltine 278
2001 David Toms Atlanta A.C. 265
2000 Tiger Woods Valhalla 270
1999 Tiger Woods Medinah 275
1998 Vijay Singh Sahalee 271
1997 Davis Love III Winged Foot 269
1996 Mark Brooks Valhalla 277
1995 S. Elkington Riviera 267
1994 Nick Price Southern Hills 269
1993 Paul Azinger Inverness 272
1992 Nick Price Bellerive 278
1991 John Daly Crooked Stick 276
1990 Wayne Grady Shoal Creek 282
1989 Payne Stewart Kemper Lakes 276
1988 Jeff Sluman Oak Tree 272
1987 Larry Nelson PGA National 287
1986 Bob Tway Inverness 276
1985 Hubert Green Cherry Hills 278
1984 Lee Trevino Shoal Creek 273
1983 Hal Sutton Riviera 274
1982 Ray Floyd Southern Hills 272
1981 Larry Nelson Atlanta A.C. 273
1980 Jack Nicklaus Oak Hill 274
1979 D. Graham Oakland Hills 272
1978 J. Mahaffey Oakmont 276
1977 L. Wadkins Pebble Beach 282
1976 D. Stockton Congressional 281
1975 Jack Nicklaus Firestone 276
1974 Lee Trevino Tanglewood 276
1973 Jack Nicklaus Canterbury 277
1972 Gary Player Oakland Hills 281
1971 Jack Nicklaus PGA National 281
1970 D. Stockton Southern Hills 279
1969 Ray Floyd NCR 276
1968 Julius Boros Pecan Valley 281
1967 Don January Columbine 281
1966 Al Geiberger Firestone 280
1965 Dave Marr Laurel Valley 280
1964 Bob Nichols Columbus 271
1963 Jack Nicklaus Dallas A.C. 279
1962 Gary Player Aronomink 278
1961 Jerry Barber Olympia Flds 277
1960 Jay Hebert Firestone 281
1959 Bob Rosburg St. Louis Park 277
1958 D.Finsterwald Llanerch 276
Presidents Cup
The current Presidents Cup standings; top 10 make team; 2 others
selected Monday:
United States International
1. Tiger Woods Ernie Els, S. Africa
2. Davis Love III Vijay Singh, Fiji
3. Jim Furyk Mike Weir, Canada
4. David Toms Nick Price, Zimb.
5. Kenny Perry Retief Goosen, S. Af.
6. Phil Mickelson Robert Allenby, Aus.
7. Justin Leonard Stephen Leaney, Aus.
8. Chris DiMarco Peter Lonard, Aus.
9. Jerry Kelly Adam Scott, Aus.
10. Ch. Howell III Stuart Appleby, Aus.
11. Fred Funk K.J. Choi, Korea
12. Bob Estes E. Romero, Arg.
13. Chad Campbell M. Campbell, N.Z.
14. Jeff Sluman Angel Cabrera, Arg.
15. Scott Verplank T. Immelman, S. Af.
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