Top 10 in 2013: Major moments

Adam Scott’s clutch 12-foot putt to defeat Angel Cabrera at the Masters not only gave Scott his first major title, it gave Australia its first green jacket. The Aussie’s nerves of steel displayed on the second playoff hole will forever be remembered by Australians everywhere.

Sometimes there is more behind a winning putt than just a player capturing a trophy and a big check. For Phil Mickelson, his birdie putt on the 18th green at Muirfield meant he had won the third leg of the career grand slam at event he’d never thought he would win. Mickelson struggled on links courses for most of his career, but he finally learned how to play the correct shots and once a few putts started to drop, Mickelson had his name engraved on the claret jug.

Nothing gets golfers fired up like a good ol’ fashioned rules debate. We learned this year when the rules debate involves Tiger Woods at the Masters, it became something that we’ll be arguing about in grill rooms for years to come. How did Tiger not know the rule? How did Augusta officials get the ruling wrong? Would Woods have gone on to win the Masters if he didn’t hit the flag? Let the debate continue ...

Starting the final round with a one-shot lead, Mickelson quickly gave it up with double bogeys on Nos. 3 and 5. When he holed out for eagle on the par-4 10th, it looked as if Lefty finally got the break that would help him secure his first U.S. Open title. But after he hit a wedge over the green on the par-3 13th and made bogey, the only thing Mickelson secured was his sixth runner-up finish at the U.S. Open.

When you’re mentioned among names like Babe Zaharias and Mickey Wright, you know you’ve done something special. Park became the first player since Zaharias in 1950 to win three consecutive majors when she defended her title at the U.S. Women’s Open at Sebonack, and became only the fourth player to win three majors in one season.

A little fist pump is about all the emotion you’ll see out of Dufner. So when he won his first major at the PGA, Dufner nonchalantly raised his arms in victory. But after he hugged his wife, there was a “Did he just do what I think he did?” moment when they walked off the green. “Yeah, I grabbed her butt,” said Dufner later on the “Howard Stern Show.” So there you go.

The deafening roars of Adam Scott’s birdie putt on 18 had barely worn off when Angel Cabrera, needing a birdie of his own to force a playoff, stepped up to his second shot and stuffed it to three feet. He would go on to lose the playoff, but Cabrera’s macho shot will always be remembered as one of the best approach shots in Masters history.

Fourteen-year-old Tianlang Guan from China was going to be a major story at the Masters regardless of how he played. Unfortunately, this feel-good story took an unexpected twist when he was penalized for slow play during the second round. Guan was able to survive the cut on the number, but playing partner Ben Crenshaw spoke for many when he said, “I am sick for him.”

Having lost his battle with cancer in 2002, Justin Rose’s father was not there to see his son win his first major on Father’s Day. But when Rose pointed to the sky after holing out for par on the 18th at Merion, everyone knew whom he was pointing to. “My dad was the inspiration the whole day,” he said.

The second shot at the Road Hole at St. Andrews might be the toughest approach shot in major championship golf. So when Lewis smoked a 5-iron to 4 feet at the famed hole, she gave her caddie a fistbump, knowing she had just hit a shot most of us can only dream about. “I hit the perfect golf shot,” she said.