There are few things in life that hurt quite as badly as missing a tiny putt even when there is nothing riding on it. Unfortunately for some leading tour professionals they have missed tiny putts at the worst possible time, resulting in a major championship victory slipping from their grasp. In this article I am going to list the five most shocking misses in championship golf. Whilst it could be considered a little ghoulish to re-live these agonising moments, some of you may find solace in this unequivocal proof, that it does indeed happen to the best of ‘em.

#5 – Scott Hoch – 1989 U.S. Masters – Final Round - 1st Playoff Hole
After recording an extremely disappointing 77 (+5) in the third round of the U.S. Masters, Nick Faldo’s chances of landing his first green jacket looked to be dead in the water. In the final round though, he bounced back superbly with a blistering 7-under 65 to tie Scott Hoch. It was an incredibly exciting finish that saw Ben Crenshaw and Greg Norman spurn chances on the final hole to join the playoff.

As ever at Augusta, the playoff started on the difficult tenth hole and saw both players find the fairway with their tee shots. Nick Faldo then hit a poor second shot into the greenside bunker on the right of the green and failed to get up and down and carded a bogey. Scott Hoch safely found the putting surface, and his attempt at birdie ran just two feet past. Now all he had to do was to tap in to win his first Major Tournament. Sadly for Scott Hoch, the enormity of the situation proved to be too much for him and he badly pulled his short putt for victory, missing the hole completely. Faldo then went on to birdie the next hole to claim the first of his three U.S. Masters.




#4 – Doug Sanders - 1970 Open Championship – Final Round - 18th Hole
The 1970 Open Championship at St. Andrews saw an epic battle with Doug Sanders golfing and all-time legend Jack Nicklaus. In blustery conditions on the final day, Sanders made an incredible sand save from the infamous road hole bunker on the 17th and arrived on the relatively straightforward 18th hole with a one shot lead.

Sanders hit a superb drive that came to rest on the fairway just 74-yards away from the pin. Surely he would get down in three shots and make the par he needed to win. After a mediocre pitch shot Sanders knocked his birdie try three feet past the hole. As he addressed his short putt to win golf’s greatest championship, Sanders noticed a bug flying around near his ball and bent down to waft the it away. He then returned to his address position without stepping away and resetting, and nervously jabbed the ball wide of the hole. The two players returned the day after for an 18 hole playoff with Nicklaus winning comfortably

Sanders was asked some years later if he ever thought about this horrifying miss to which he replied  “sometimes it doesn't cross my mind for a full 5 minutes.”




#3 – Retief Goosen – 2001 U.S. Open – Final Round - 18th Hole
The 2001 U.S. Open at Southern Hills GC had one of the most bizarre finishes in major championship history. Stewart Cink trailed Retief Goosen by one shot as they arrived on the tee of the final hole with Mark Brooks already in the clubhouse also one behind. Both players hit the green with Goosen hitting his approach considerably closer than Cink. Cink understandably believed Goosen would two-putt from twelve-feet away which caused him to be overly aggressive with his putt for birdie. His attempt ran a couple of feet by and rather than marking it and allowing Goosen to putt, Cink decided to finish his off and shockingly missed his par putt as well.

Goosen now had two putts to win from twelve feet but rather than just rolling his first putt up to the hole-side, he rammed it two and half feet past. With his nerves shredded, Goosen’s putt to win was a horribly twitchy affair, and it was pushed horribly to the right. The golfing world looked on aghast as it rolled four feet by but in a huge show of courage, Goosen managed to knock the next putt in before defeating Mark Brooks the following day in a playoff.




#2 – Bernhard Langer – 1991 Ryder Cup – Sunday Singles - 18th Hole
The 1991 Ryder Cup at Kiawah Island was a notorious feisty affair and was dubbed “the war on the shore” with a few of the American players donning military style caps over the three days. On the final day it looked like the strong American team would cruise to victory before many of their top players began to crumble over the difficult closing stretch of holes. Mark Calcavecchia was 5up with 5 holes to play against a young Colin Montgomerie but somehow managed to lose the last five holes to only record a half point.

In the end it all came down to the final hole of the final match which saw Bernhard Langer battle against Hale Irwin. Having arrived on the eighteenth tee all square Langer knew that he needed to win the last hole to secure the vital point Europe needed for victory. Both players played the hole nervously and Irwin could only manage a bogey leaving Langer with a tricky 6-footer for par and a glorious victory.

Langer had battled with the putting yips on two occasions at this point in his career and had developed and unusual clamp style grip to overcome them. The golfing world held its breath as the reliable German drew his putter back and struck the final putt. It drifted agonisingly past the right edge meaning the US team had won the Ryder Cup. The look of anguish on Langer’s face perfectly illustrated the enormity of the situation and how much these events mean to the players.  Langer needs no praise from us but Seve once said it's a putt no one could hole.  Langer won on Tour the very next week too!  Resilient much?!




#1 - I.K Kim - 2021 Kraft Nabisco Championship – Final Round - 18th Hole
And so, we arrive at my pick for the most shocking miss in major championship history with this most unwanted of honours going to lady professional I.K Kim. Playing in the Kraft Nabisco championship, the first lady’s major of 2012, Kim was left with the most straightforward putt to win. Her ball was lying just 12 inches away from the hole with no difficult slopes to navigate. The surface of the green was perfect and all she had to do was complete the tap in.

In one of the most heart-breaking moments ever witnessed in a golf tournament, Kim’s tiny putt to win caught the side of the hole and horrifyingly spun all the way round with a 180-degree horse-shoe before stopping hanging over the front edge of the hole. The look of disbelief on the stricken I.K Kim’s face was awful to see, subsequently made worse by the fact that she would then go on to lose the tournament in a playoff.