He came, he recreated and he even conquered some of Tiger Woods’ most iconic shots from his historic 2000 season.
Johnson Wagner appeared live this past week on “Golf Central Postgame,” traveling to Pebble Beach, Canada, Akron and Louisville.
His final stop was at the site of the PGA Championship, where Woods beat Bob May in a three-hole aggregate playoff for his third consecutive major triumph.
Sunday: Three shots at Valhalla
First, there was the putt on the 72nd hole that Woods had to make to force the extra session with May and keep alive his major streak.
Then there was the birdie putt that Woods made on the first playoff hole, a 20-footer that he quick-walked into the hole and punctuated with a point, a fist pump and a yell (Johnson absolutely nailed this one).
Finally, there was the bunker shot Woods hit on the third playoff hole, again the par-5 18th. Leading by one, Woods had to get up and down to all but seal his second straight Wanamaker Trophy, and he did.
Saturday: WGC-NEC Invitational, final round, 18th hole
Because of a weather delay, the final round at Firestone Country Club ended in darkness. Had the tournament been close, the conclusion might have been pushed to Monday … but it wasn’t close. Woods was double digits clear of second place and eager to wrap up win No. 8 of the season. With fans holding up lighters and electronic leaderboards providing as much light as possible, Woods hit his final approach shot, an 8-iron from 168 yards at 8:25 p.m. It fell from the darkness and landed 2 feet from the hole. “You can’t do that!” exclaimed CBS announcer Jim Nantz. “That can’t happen.” Tiger can, and he did.
Friday: Bell Canadian Open, final round, 18th hole
Woods led by one shot over Grant Waite entering the 72nd hole, the par-5 18th, at Glen Abbey. Woods’ tee shot found the right fairway bunker while Waite split the fairway. With Waite hitting his second shot safely onto the green, Woods played aggressively to a tucked, back hole location and flushed a 6-iron from 218 yards that landed on the green and finished in the back fringe. He went on to make birdie and win his ninth and final title of the season.
Thursday: A pair at Pebble Beach
First up were two shots from Pebble Beach, which hosted a couple of events in 2000 – both won by Woods. In February, at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Woods overcame a seven-stroke, final-round deficit to chase down and surpass Matt Gogel. The highlight of that performance was his hole-out from 97 yards on the par-4 15th. That helped keep alive Tiger’s winning streak, which reached six straight starts dating back to the ’99 season.
Recreation No. 2 came from June’s U.S. Open. Woods hit 15 fewer shots than anyone that week, and the one that everyone remembers – which made an awed on-course reporter Roger Maltbie say, “It’s just not a fair fight” – was his second into the par-5 sixth, a 7-iron out of the (then) 4-inch rough from 205 yards in Round 2. Woods went on to win his fifth event of the year – his third career major – and set a record for major-championship margin of victory.
