No. 3: Ben Hogan
"The 1-iron Shot"
Tournament: 1950 U.S. Open
Course: Merion Golf Club, East Course (Ardmore, Pa.)
Hole: 72nd (36th played that day, Par 4)
Shot: Facing stiff wind and using a 1-iron--perhaps the most difficult club to control in golf--Hogan's shot landed on the green, setting up a par that forced an 18-hole playoff the following day.
Result: Long before Tiger Woods heroically played through pain at last year's U.S. Open, there was Ben Hogan, who just 16 months removed from a near-fatal car crash that was initially thought to have ended his career, defeated Lloyd Mangrum and George Fazio in the playoff to capture the national championship.
No 2. Tom Watson
"The Chip Shot"
Tournament: 1982 U.S. Open
Course: Pebble Beach (Monterey County, Calif.)
Hole: 71st (Par 3)
Shot: With the ball lying in the deep rough beyond a difficult downward sloping green, Watson's chip shot miraculously hit the flag stick and landed in the hole, giving him a birdie and the tournament lead with one hole to play.
Result: The shot helped Watson post a final round score of 70 and defeat Jack Nicklaus by two strokes for his sixth major title.
No. 1: Larry Mize
"The Mize Miracle"
Tournament: 1987 Masters
Course: Augusta National (Augusta, Ga.)
Hole: Second playoff hole (regularly hole No. 11, Par 4)
Shot: A remarkable sand-wedge chip shot from 140 feet away dropped into the hole, clinching the tournament for Mize.
Result: Mize defeated Norman and Ballesteros (who was eliminated earlier) in a sudden-death playoff to capture his only major championship.