Top 10 shots of 2014

Post by Golf Journalist Nick Bonfield 

What a year it has been! 2014 has seen the rise of Rory McIlroy to the dominant force in World Golf, so it is not surprisingly that two of his shots the list, but do you agree. Please comment below on what your number 1 shot of the year would be. 

1. Rory McIlroy – USPGA Championship

I’ve debated whether to include this shot for a while, as even McIlroy will tell you that it came slightly out of the heel. Still, being a major champion is about having the mental strength and self-belief to step up when you really need to make a play. His 3-wood from 250-plus yards at the par-5 10th flew low and straight and scurried up to six feet from the flag. A touch lucky, yes, but he knocked in the ensuing putt to re-gain the momentum at a pivotal time in the round, a time when it seemed as if a second consecutive major was slipping away.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ0NFFIgq2c

2. Rory McIlroy – Open Championship

McIlroy’s approach to the 10th at the PGA Championship was slightly fortunate, but his second to the par-5 18th at Royal Liverpool during the third round of the Open Championship was pure skill. He striped a long iron after a huge drive and converted the eagle putt to pull six shots clear. While it certainly wasn’t over after three rounds - and both Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia narrowed the gap to two shots at various points on Sunday - that eagle gave him a confidence-inspiring cushion and was certainly seen at the time as the death-knell for his rivals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3FSg7wAbxQ

3. Victor Dubuisson – WGC-Accenture Matchplay

Well, which one do we choose? I must admit when Frenchman Victor Dubuisson over-hit his approach on the 21st hole of an enthralling final against Jason Day in the WGC-Accenture Matchplay, I felt a pang of annoyance that someone who’d played so valiantly – en debut in the tournament, as well – had encountered such an unfortunate fate. I saw no way back after his second shot settled in a sinister-looking bush over the green. But he played an unfathomable recovery (granted, luck played its part), holed the putt and got up and down once again on the 22nd extra hole, when, unbelievably, his pulled approach found another spiky shrub. He would eventually loose, but the phrase ‘he went down with a fight’ is extremely apposite here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6so3qB89wk

4. Matt Jones – Shell Houston Open

Matt Jones first joined the PGA Tour in January 2008 but hadn’t recorded a victory six years later. With Matt Kuchar in the middle of the fairway on the 72nd hole at the Shell Houston Open, and one shot clear of the Australian, it didn’t look like his fortunes were going to change. But an uncharacteristic mistake from Kuchar – a pull into water – paved the way for a play-off after he completed an impressive up-and-down to force extra holes. Both players missed the green on the first play-off hole, but Jones holed his chip shot from short of the green to register his first PGA Tour title and secure a maiden invite to the Masters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjF1Tv619Pc

5. Bubba Watson – Masters

Granted, it didn’t influence proceedings a great deal, but most people’s jaws dropped after watching Bubba Watson’s drive on the 13th hole during the final round of the Masters. Playing his characteristic fade, he swooshed at the ball with almightily force, took his drive over the corner of the trees and found a portion of fairway normally used as a lay-up area for second shots. His 360-yard effort left just a wedge for his second, and led to a tap-in birdie that put more distance between him and the field.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S348twUtf7w

6. Angel Cabrera – Greenbrier Classic

Before this year’s Greenbrier Classic, Angel Cabrera had only won two tournaments on the PGA Tour – the 2007 US Open and the 2009 Masters. He was one shot clear standing in the middle of the 13th fairway during the final round of the Greenbrier Classic – the hardest hole at Old White TPC - and extended his lead to three after holing a 176-yard 8-iron up the hill. He stuttered late on with a couple of bogeys, but held on to secure his first non-major PGA Tour title.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQBZJuz87I8

7. Mikael Lundberg – Lyoness Open

Mikael Lundberg has experienced a rather up-and-down career on the European Tour. Between 2009 and 2013, he didn’t finish above 125th on the Race to Dubai, not good when you consider only the top 115 players keep their cards. But he came through Q-School at the end of 2013 and found himself in a play-off with home hope Bernd Wiesberger at the Lyoness Open. With the Austrian in prime position some 10 feet behind the hole, Lundberg sank a 45-foot tramliner to notch his first win for six years and secure a two-year European Tour exemption.

8. Bubba Watson - WGC HSBC-Champions

Bubba Watson looked dead and buried at the WGC-HSBC Champions in China after relinquishing a two-shot lead on the back nine. With playing partner Tim Clark just outside tap-in distance for birdie on the par-5 18th and Watson one behind and in the bunker, his race looked run. But he remarkably holed a tough downhill shot from the sand and defeated the diminutive South African on the first hole of the subsequent play-off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_eXCeHNCn8

9. Oliver Wilson – Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

Coming into the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, Oliver Wilson was 792nd in the world and 102nd on the Challenge – yes, Challenge – Tour Order of Merit. After nine-runner up finishes on the European Tour between 2006 and 2009 -which helped him force his way onto the European Ryder Cup team – the popular Englishman suffered a serious lack of form, which culminated in a 236th-place finish on the 2013 Race to Dubai. But despite all that, he rose to the occasion when the chance to win his first title presented itself. He stiffed his approach at the tough par-3 16th at St Andrews’ Old Course to move one clear, made a gutsy up and down on the 17th from 70 yards short of the green and parred the last before declaring: “I could be drunk for a while!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24e7-wtnKyA

10. Marcel Siem - BMW Masters

Marcel Siem was in position to win the BMW Masters outright, but, much like eventual play-off companion Alex Levy, he threw away his chance on a tough closing stretch at Lake Malaren GC in China. However, he produced when it counted. With Levy and Ross Fisher on the green of the challenging par-4 18th – the first play-off hole – Siem holed a delicate chip shot, celebrated in typically jubilant fashion and secured the biggest paycheck of his career.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THdVV1Qpcmg

More from the Must Watch archives

Gareth Maybin - Jaw dropping trick shots	Phil Mickelson Flop Shot Magic