It wouldn’t be Sunday at the Masters without a Tiger Woods moment.
Despite Tiger’s withdrawal before the fourth and final day took place Augusta National had a Tiger-esque moment when Sahith Theegala sent the patrons crazy with a similar chip in on the par-3 16th.
Woods produced arguably the Masters most iconic shot in 2005 when his chip from back left of the green tricked down the slope, stopped on the lip and fell in.
Theegala in slightly less dramatic circumstances repeated that feat as he capped his Masters debut in style.
“Oh, my God. You should have seen how many people said, Do it for Tiger, Tiger chip-in, and all that stuff when I was over there,” explained Theegala who secured a debut ninth place. “I just wanted to get it anywhere on the green because I had kind of a muddy lie, and yeah, it was gross over there. But yes, I can’t wait to watch the replay because I don’t know what I did. I don’t even know the angle the ball took. I was just blacked out when I hit the chip because I was just so happy to get it on the green.
“I think it had more speed for sure. It probably would have ended up a couple feet right if not more, but it was just madness when it went in.”
While Theegala’s chip grabbed the left lip and went in at pace, he feels the soft conditions he faced made Tiger’s chip in back eighteen years ago all the more special.
“I wasn’t sure because it seemed like today balls were stopping in places where it normally wouldn’t. It’s just playing soft, and maybe the greens are a touch slower, but I thought it was perfect because normally you throw it up the hill and it has no chance of stopping. That’s what makes Tiger’s chip that much more incredible.”
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