Best of '09: Thrilling finishes, slim margins of victory

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Stan Badz/PGA TOUR

Steve Stricker and Tiger Woods both made last-hole birdies to win two different events in 2009.

The ball seemed to hang in the air forever. But when it finally landed on terra firma, the outcome was over in an instant.

Tiger Woods liked it as soon as he hit it. The 30,000 fans packed around the 18th green at Muirfield Village had to wait almost 10 seconds before they roared their approval.

And why not? Woods' masterful 7-iron from 183 yards landed just a foot from the cup, leading to a tap-in birdie and a one-shot victory over Jim Furyk at the Memorial Tournament last June.

BEST MOMENTS: From another record-breaking Tiger performance to Stenson's decision to bare almost all, golf fans are left with plenty of indelible images from the year. Click here BEST SURPRISES: Who were the surprise players in 2009, the ones who played beyond our expectations? We've got the list. Click here BEST PLAYERS: Who joined Tiger and Phil in the Big Three? Can you name all eight multiple winners? Which big name had 11 top-10s but no wins? Click here BEST FINISHES: The PGA TOUR had 13 playoffs in 2009, including two at major championships, and 13 more were decided by just a shot. Click here BEST ROUNDS: Count down the 10 most memorable rounds of the season, including Troy Matteson's back-to-back 61s and Tiger Woods' 62 at Cog Hill. Click here

Season in review

How it shook out in 2009

PGA TOUR: Tiger's return, surprise major winners and Phil's finish were just some of the headlines from an exciting year. Click here CHAMPIONS TOUR: A thrilling season-long battle for the Charles Schwab Cup begs the question: Just who had the best year on Tour? Click here NATIONWIDE TOUR: Michael Sim. Michael Sim. Michael Sim. The Australian phenom lit it up in 2009 with the most successful individual season in Tour history. Click here

"I couldn't hit it any better than I did," Woods said.

It was a shot of brilliance, no doubt, from the world's greatest player. But it also was just another fantastic finish on the PGA TOUR in 2009.

Parity has come to the PGA TOUR. When the catch-phrase "On Any Given Sunday" is used, we're no longer talking about the NFL.

Consider this: Of the 45 official PGA TOUR events this season, more than a fourth of them (13) went to playoffs, including a couple of the majors and all four of the Fall Finish events. (The TOUR's record for most playoffs in a season is 16, set in 1988 and 1991.)

Thirteen more tournaments were decided by just a shot, four more by two. That meant two-thirds of the TOUR's schedule (30 of 45) was decided by two shots or less -- a birdie-bogey swing.

Nine players -- Kenny Perry (FBR Open), Nick Watney (Buick Invitational), Michael Bradley (Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular), Woods (Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, Memorial), Zach Johnson (Valero Texas Open), Steve Stricker, Bo Van Pelt (U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee), Martin Laird (Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospital for Children Open) and Troy Mattteson (Frys.com Open) -- won thanks to a birdie on the final hole. Stricker actually joined Woods by doing it twice, producing last-hole birdies to win a three-way playoff at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial and the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Heath Slocum captured The Barclays because he drained a clutch 20-foot par putt on the 72nd hole. Others who won this year by making a par putt of more than tap-in distance on the final green were Phil Mickelson (Northern Trust Open), Y.E. Yang (Honda Classic) and Retief Goosen (Transitions Championship).

Even some of the larger margins of victory were closer than you think. Pat Perez won the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer by three shots, but that was only because he smoked a 6-iron from 199 yards over water to 3 feet for a thrilling eagle at the final hole.

"There was no way I was laying up," Perez said after scoring his first PGA TOUR victory in his eighth season. "I was going for it."

Yang's three-shot victory over Woods at the PGA Championship also was in doubt until he curved a 3-hybrid around trees from 210 yards to 8 feet for the clinching birdie at the 72nd hole. Yang was ahead by only one as he tried the risky shot.

The majors, as usual, provided more than their share of drama. At the Masters, Kenny Perry seemed poised to become the oldest winner of a Green Jacket when he almost aced the par-3 16th for a birdie and a two-shot lead. But Perry, 48, bogeyed the last two holes, setting up a playoff with Angel Cabrera and Chad Campbell that Cabrera won with a par on the second extra hole.

At the U.S. Open, Mickelson -- playing for just the second time after learning his wife, Amy, had been diagnosed with breast cancer -- joined former world No. 1 David Duval atop the leaderboard late in the final round. But each made a late bogey, opening the door for Lucas Glover's two-shot win.

Tom Watson could have made the British Open one for the ages had the 59-year-old managed to make par from the 18th fairway at Turnberry when he held a one-shot lead. But Watson's 8-iron hopped over the green, he failed to save par and Stewart Cink, who had birdied the 72nd hole, won an anti-climactic playoff by six shots.

"I know just about everyone was rooting for Tom to win," Cink said, "but I had to act as if he was just another player in the field I had to beat."

The drama was at its peak during the spring, starting when Yang had to make a nervy 5-foot putt to win The Honda Classic. That kicked off a string of seven consecutive PGA TOUR events that were decided by a shot, including a pair of playoffs.

That white-knuckle stretch ended when Brian Gay ran away for a 10-shot win at the Verizon Heritage. Gay proved to be the exception to the close calls, also scoring a five-shot victory at the St. Jude Classic presented by FedEx. Take away Gay's two wins and the average margin of victory on the PGA TOUR this year would have dropped from 2.11 shots to 1.86.

That just shows, once again, the margin between winning on the PGA TOUR and coming close remains razor thin.