The best and most exciting tournaments of 2012, from ‘regular’ Tour events to the majors and the Ryder Cup.
The best and most exciting tournaments of 2012, from ‘regular’ Tour events to the majors and the Ryder Cup.
Paired with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson fired an eight-under 64 - beating Woods by 11 shots - to win for the fourth time at Pebble Beach and become only the ninth player with 40 career PGA Tour wins. (Getty)
Despite a shaky finish that included a tee shot hit fat that went only 170 yards, Rory McIlroy hung on to beat Louis Oosthuizen by a stroke and join Tiger Woods as the only three-time winners on the PGA Tour in 2012. (Getty)
For his first PGA Tour win, Fowler defeated Rory McIlroy in a playoff. Fowler, proving he’s more than just a monochromatically dressed media creation, birdied the first extra hole by stuffing a wedge to 4 feet from 133 yards. (Getty)
If Rory McIlroy holds on to the No. 1 ranking for years, the 2012 Honda will be the answer to the trivia question: When did he first become No. 1? McIlroy survived the lowest final round of Tiger Woods’ career - a 62 - to win by two shots. (Getty)
Bill Haas won with a 45-foot putt on the second playoff hole, but the real fireworks happened at the final hole of regulation - a 25-foot birdie putt by Phil Mickelson a 12-footer by Keegan Bradley to make it a three-man playoff. (Getty)
Rory McIlroy had a three-shot lead going into the final round, which, in this year of the collapse, was no guarantee of anything. But he punctuated a 66 with a 25-foot birdie on the final hole to complete an eight-shot romp. (Getty)
Webb Simpson closed with a 2-under 68 at Olympic to win the U.S. Open. He was aided by the collapse of Jim Furyk, who bogeyed two of his last three holes, and helped himself with a clutch chip to save par on the final hole. (Getty)
It’s a tossup which development the 2012 British Open will be remembered for more - Ernie Els’ unexpected fourth major (and second British) or Adam Scott blowing a four-shot lead with four holes to play by bogeying all of them. (Getty)
Bubba Watson’s you-had-to-see-it-to-believe-it approach from the woods to the 10th green in the playoff with Louis Oosthuizen made the 2012 edition one of the most amazing Masters ever. (Getty)
The Europeans’ furious rally (or was it the Americans’ stunning collapse?) in the Sunday singles that produced a 14 1/2 to 13 1/2 victory - matching the biggest comeback in Ryder Cup history - made for the most compelling golf of the year. (Getty)