Wells Fargo: Memorable moments
1 / 10
1. 2012: Rickie Fowler's first win
There were great expectations for Rickie Fowler when he earned his PGA Tour card for 2010. He already had a pair of T-2 finishes (one unofficial) and had been a two-time Walker Cupper as an amateur. He added two more runner-up finishes and beat out Rory McIlroy for the Rookie of the Year award. As time went by, however, some began to wonder if he was all sizzle with his flat-bill caps, long hair and orange outfits, and no steak. That talk ended in May 2012 when Fowler got his first PGA Tour win, topping McIlroy and D.A. Points with a birdie on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff.
Associated Press
2 / 10
2. 2010: Rory has a 3-some
Rory McIlroy was two shots over the cut line with three holes to play on Friday. He was looking at his third consecutive MC. But an eagle on the 16th hole righted his ship and he made the cut on the number. From there on he played like a golfer possessed, shooting a course-record 10-under 62 on Sunday for a four-shot win over Phil Mickelson. McIlroy made 3 on each of his last six holes.
Associated Press
3 / 10
3. 2005: Singh's furious finish
Vijay Singh trailed 54-hole leader Sergio Garcia by six shots going into the final round. Garcia couldn’t get anything going and shot a final-round 72. Singh caught him with a 66, as did Jim Furyk with the same score, including a 72nd-hole birdie. Garcia was eliminated with a bogey on the first extra hole, and Singh went on to beat Furyk with a par on the fourth extra hole.
Associated Press
4 / 10
4. 2006: Furyk and Earl Woods
Having lost in a playoff in 2005, Jim Furyk was eager to take another shot at winning the Wachovia Championship. This time he succeeded, beating Trevor Immelman in a playoff. Furyk had to share the spotlight, however, with news of the death of Tiger Woods’ father, Earl, on Wednesday of tournament week. “It’s not often that a father of an athlete commands so much respect and attention,” Paul Azinger said.
Associated Press
5 / 10
5. 2007: Tiger vs. (the other) Rory
Rory Sabbatini has never been afraid to ruffle some feathers. In this instance, however, his timing was curious. Sabbatini led by one shot after 54 holes, but closed with a 74 and was passed for the win by Tiger Woods, who shot 69. The following week, Sabbatini said he thought Woods was “more beatable than ever. I think there's a few fortuitous occasions out there that really changed the round for him at Wachovia." Postscript: Woods and Sabbatini ended up paired in the final round three months later at the Bridgestone Invitational. Woods shot 65 to win. Sabbatini again shot 74.
Associated Press
6 / 10
6. 2008: Kim breaks through
Although he had not yet won on Tour when he came to the 2008 Wachovia Championship, Anthony Kim was well known. In 2006 he had finished T-2 in his PGA Tour debut at the Valero Texas Open, and in 2007 he had four top-10 finishes. At the Wachovia, he shot 16-under 272 (a tournament record until 2015) to beat former Open Championship winner Ben Curtis by five shots. Kim would win twice more – the 2008 AT&T National and 2010 Shell Houston Open – but his career was derailed by injuries in 2012.
Associated Press
7 / 10
7. 2014: Holmes perseveres
It had been a long time between victories for J.B. Holmes. He had earned his second PGA Tour win in February 2008, beating Phil Mickelson on the first hole of a playoff in the FBR Open in Scottsdale, Ariz. Now here he was in May 2014, about to complete a one-stroke victory over Jim Furyk. His wife, Erica, couldn’t help but think of all her husband had been through in the interim: two brain surgeries, a broken ankle that sidelined him for a year and elbow surgery. “There were days he had to go to rehab twice, then to acupuncture, then to his workout,” she said. “He’s worked so hard to get to where he is.”
Associated Press
8 / 10
8. 2015: McIlroy double dips
Rory McIlroy seized control of the tournament on Saturday, firing a course-record 61 to take a four-shot lead. Then on Sunday he closed with a 3-under 69 to finish at 21-under 267, bettering the tournament record by five strokes. His seven-shot margin over Webb Simpson and Patrick Rodgers represented his second win in three weeks.
Associated Press
9 / 10
9. 2011: Glover on a roll
We’ve all seen cases where a player addresses a ball, only to see it move – usually because of the wind – into a worse lie. But on the final hole of regulation for Lucas Glover, a ball actually moved into a BETTER position. Glover’s tee shot originally came to rest in a tough sidehill lie left of the creek that lines the hole. When Glover moved into position for his second shot, the ball rolled down the slope into a better lie. Glover had not grounded his club, so he was able to play from the new lie. He made par and ended up in a playoff with former Clemson teammate Jonathan Byrd. Glover (pictured with his mother, Hershey Glover) won the playoff with a par on the first extra hole.
Associated Press
10 / 10
10. 2018: It was Day's day
Jason Day was cruising along on the final nine holes, seemingly on his way to his 12th career win, when he made back-to-back bogeys at the 13th and 14th holes. Suddenly he was tied with Aaron Wise. Day then turned things around, sinking a 10-foot birdie putt at the 16th, then rifling a 7-iron off the flagstick on the 230-yard 17th hole. His 3-foot birdie putt, coupled with an up-and-down par at the last, gave Day his second win of the year.
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