Memorable Moments: Tiger returns to the scene in '01

text size

This is the setting where Tiger Woods became famous.

Tiger Woods has had plenty of history at TPC Sawgrass. (WireImage)

Woods entered the golf mainstream here on a steamy August day during the 1994 U.S. Amateur. The 18-year-old Stanford freshman, wearing khaki shorts and a panama hat, was 6 down at one time in his 36-hole final with Trip Kuehne. But he battled back to 1 down entering the match's penultimate hole, the 17th.

His bold approach shot to a back-right hole location ended up on the right fringe, close to water. From there, he sank the 20-foot birdie putt, and for the first time, he displayed his now-famous fist pump. He parred the 18th to win 1 up for the first of his record three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles.

In 2001, during the Saturday of his first PLAYERS Championship title, Woods' 9-iron tee shot caught a gust of wind and sailed to the back left of the green, approximately 60 feet above the hole, which was cut on the front tier. The ensuing birdie putt broke left at first, slowly reached the crest of the hill and then sped down the slope to the right -- with NBC analyst Gary Koch chanting, "Better than most! Better than most!" -- before barreling into the hole just as caddie Steve Williams pulled the flag.

The crowd roared. Again, the fist pump...this time twice. Woods completed a 6-under-par 66 to place two shots out of Jerry Kelly's third-round lead, then finished with a 67 in the final round to win by one over Vijay Singh.

But lest you think that Tiger rules the 17th, though, get a load of his 40-round cumulative PLAYERS Championship numbers: 13-over par, including three birdies, three double bogeys and nine bogeys.