Tour star reveals bonkers story behind Tiger’s greatest ever shot
There’s few things that get golf fans more giddy than an utterly insane Tiger Woods story to leave you thinking could this guy get any more out of this world?
Well, fortunately for you guys – and just when we thought we’d heard them all – DP World Tour star Ryan Fox joined the NCG podcast to share a bonkers tale behind arguably Tiger Woods’ greatest shot.
The scene was the 2000 Bell Canadian Open. Hole 72. Stuck in a fairway bunker, Woods knocks it over water from 218 yards to set up birdie and secure yet another famous PGA Tour win. You’ll have seen it on every Tiger montage available, but just how the 15-time-major champ prepared for the iconic shot is about as ludicrous as it possibly gets.
Passed down to Fox courtesy of Steve Williams, the famous looper who’s caddied for his fellow New Zealander on various occasions after his 12 year tenure with Woods, he’s how the brilliance was set-up.
“[Steve’s] got plenty of stories, but probably the one that got me, there’s that iconic shot that Tiger had on Glen Abbey, from the 18th hole fairway bunker, to beat another Kiwi, Grant Waite.” Fox explains. “He made some stupid distance with a 6-iron out of a fairway bunker, over water. Makes birdie, wins by a shot.
“Steve said to me, he goes what no one realises is that before Tiger shot 65 that day to win, they were driving down some highway in Canada on the Saturday night. Someone’s driving them, and all of a sudden on the highway Tiger just goes, ‘Stop!’
“So the driver pulls over. Tiger gets out of the car, walks to the trunk of the car, grabs out a club and starts swinging it by the side of the road. Steve’s sitting in the car going, ‘I don’t know, it’s Tiger, what’s he doing?’ and he jumps back in the car after about five minutes and just goes, ‘Steve I’ve got it. We’re good tomorrow.’
“Steve didn’t know what the problem was or whatever, but Tiger found it on the side of I-95 in Canada or whatever it was! There’s just lots of cool stuff like that that shows just how good Tiger really was.”
Just ridiculous. Maybe that’s what we need to be doing the night before our next monthly medal…
You can listen to more of Ryan Fox discussing what it was like having Steve Williams on the bag, as well everything from growing up in a famous sporting family, his remarkable 2022 season, major championship ambitions, and Olympic memories on the latest episode of The Slam podcast…
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George Cooper
A golf fanatic his entire life, George Cooper is NCG's man for all goings-on at the top level of the game, whether it's the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA or LIV Golf. He also looks after NCG's Twitter and Facebook accounts. George is a member of Woburn, but is not friends with Ian Poulter.
