Someone Glad someone Sad in golf decade

Biggest shocker: No contest here. It was Tiger Woods falling from grace in stunning, messy, nasty tabloid-like fashion. It all began with a National Enquirer story that accused Tiger of flying a New York city hostess to Australia for a tryst. Then there was the suspicious early morning one-car accident just outside Tiger's Orlando home. Then we were then plunged into a weeks-long salacious scandal. Woods has dropped out of sight after announcing he was taking an "indefinite leave" from golf ( Tiger with His Women ). His wife, Elin, has bought a mansion on an island in Sweden, and People Magazine is reporting that she will leave her husband. Accenture cut ties with Woods, and other sponsors seem to be questioning their relationship with him. Meanwhile, the PGA Tour and its players are left to wonder what impact his indefinite absence will have on their future.

 

Most amazing shot: Tiger's chip-in at the 16th in the '05 Masters, when his ball rolled past the cup, changed directions and rolled back the other way, barely toppling in at the end.
Biggest one-hit wonder: Stanford alum Hilary Lunke, who beat Angela Stanford and Kelly Robbins in a playoff at the 2003 U.S. Women's Open. It was not only Lunke's only win and her only top-35 finish in a women's major, it was her only top-10 finish in any LPGA event, ever.

 

Loudest tear-inducing ovation: When Ireland's Darren Clarke walked to the first tee for Friday morning's 2006 Ryder Cup matches at the K Club in his home country, just weeks after his wife passed away from cancer, the roar was like nothing ever heard before in golf — not the Masters, not the 16th hole in Phoenix, not the New Yorkers at the Bethpage People's Open.
Best gender barrier-breaking event: Lorena Ochoa, the top player in women's golf, won the 2007 Women's British Open at St. Andrews, the first women's event held at the Old Course, which is the home of the male-only R&A. It was Ochoa's first major championship, making her the first player since Tony Lema in 1964 to win that first career major at the Old Course. "Being at St. Andrews to make history — there's no more to say," a happy Ochoa said.

 

Most famous footwear: Annika Sorenstam won the 2002 Nabisco Championship wearing Dorothy-like ruby red slippers. Sorenstam said she almost changed shoes at the turn the first day because every time she looked down to putt, "they were distracting."

 

Biggest upset: Y.E. Yang, a 37-year-old Korean and your 2009 Honda Classic champion, played in the PGA Championship's final-round pairing with Tiger Woods, who had a two-shot edge and had never lost a major championship that he led after 54 holes. Until now. Yang stared down Woods, hit the hybrid shot of his life to the 72nd green, won the PGA by three strokes and acquired lifetime superstar status as the first Asian-born golfer to win a major.

 

Most overrated player: Michelle Wie ( showed signs of progress on the LPGA tour this year, with her first win and stellar play in the Solheim Cup, but has any golfer gotten $10 million to turn pro and done less? She’s still only 20, however, and seems poised to become one of the LPGA's top players.

 

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