There is no doubt that Tiger Woods won the 2000 PGA Championship in Valhalla.
But the manner in which Woods won is still in question 24 years later.
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Some believe that simple luck intervened in Woods’ favor during a tense three-hole playoff with Bob May, who was already an unlikely final opponent for a young golfer taking over his sporting world.
Others insist something abnormal happened, which could include someone hitting Woods’ ball and helping him win the major.
The mystery (or conspiracy) involved the third playoff hole.
Woods ultimately held on to win, beating May by one stroke, while also showing off his spectacular “Putt and Point” celebration.
But if it weren’t for a lucky bounce that came out of nowhere, May could have hoisted the trophy claimed by Woods.
“Do you think someone kicked him or threw him in that direction?” announcer Jim Nantz said. “He didn’t react naturally, did he?”
“No, that’s not the case at all,” replied announcer Ken Venturi.
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“I sure hope someone didn’t hit him back,” Nantz said.
“It could be that someone stood up and hit him with their hand,” Venturi said.
The golf world may never know.
Since the wild shot and subsequent roll took place 24 years ago, the cameras haven’t been as sharp and the television angles on the course haven’t been as plentiful.
Golfers are regularly exposed by eagle-eyed fans in today’s era.
In 2000, the two main television networks could only wonder out loud – and social networks did not exist to question, dissect and over-analyze everything.
“I think I saw something that shouldn’t have happened to that ball,” one fan on the course told Golf Digest in 2000.
Another fan saw something different.
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“Honestly, it took quite a roll (on the road),” the fan said. “If you want to say he was helped, that’s where his ride ended. It’s usually tall grass. But he was beaten so he had a clean shot.
“The Tiger’s victory was the natural result. Sometimes the golf gods have to intervene in ways we don’t know.”
No matter what, Woods won.
He edged May by one stroke in a three-hole playoff, ultimately winning four straight majors for a Tiger Slam.
Woods’ lucky ball could have been assisted by a fan or a course.
What’s evident more than two decades later is that he was on top of the golf world in 2020 and nothing stood in Woods’ way.
Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka and Woods are among the stars expected in the first round on Thursday as the PGA Championship returns to Valhalla in 2024.
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