Masters Moments

The 2026 Masters tournament is well underway and Sam On Sport looks back at some of the best moments of modern times.

Masters Moments

Vibrant azaleas bursting with colour, towering trees dominating everything in sight and the sweet birdsong providing a beautiful soundtrack. Augusta National in April is a wonderful place and that is even before you get to the action on the golf course.

The Masters is one of golf’s most iconic tournaments and is truly unlike anything else. The fact that it stays at the same course every year means that all of those at home watching get a real feeling for the place, as if they know every inch of it from being there themselves.

From the challenge of the Par 3 4th hole named ‘Flowering Crabapple’ to the iconic Amen Corner to the vast expanse of bunkers on the 18th, each part of the course has provided a number of famous moments over the years that fans look back on fondly.

To win the green jacket is to go down in history, to take your place among the list of icons to have taken on the challenge of Augusta National and defeated it. Last year was the turn (finally) of Rory McIlroy. It was the end of a redemption arc that lasted over a decade at this famous course and the victory finally meant that he had achieved the career Grand Slam.

The rollercoaster of his final round; double-bogeying the first, finding some momentum, collapsing again, recovering once more and then winning in a play-off made this latest iconic moment all the more memorable. There is just something about the Masters that helps to create that feeling of emotion and connection.

The first Masters that I remember was 1996 when Nick Faldo came from six shots back to defeat Greg Norman for the title. Watching Norman collapse while Faldo kept his cool made for engrossing television. Mixed with the stunning backdrop and the gasps of the patrons it was a cinematic experience that had me hooked. I was in for life.

With this year’s Masters currently at the halfway stage, I thought that today would be a good time to go over some of my favourite memories from the tournament over my time watching. Hopefully these bring back some memories for you too.

1998 - O’Meara Wins

It would be easy to start with Tiger’s first victory in 1997 but the dominant nature of it took the shine off for me a little bit and didn’t make for compelling viewing. I much prefer a battle. Something that I can invest in and choose a competitor to get behind.

In 1998, Fred Couples had led after each of the first three rounds but Mark O’Meara had improved his score every day and was now only two behind to start on Sunday. There were others involved as well with Phil Mickelson, Paul Azinger, Jim Furyk and David Duval all within three of the lead.

Couples remained consistent throughout the day, playing a round of 70 to finish on eight under par. Duval charged early, and was three ahead with three holes left but he then bogeyed the 16th to stall. And then came O’Meara who made three birdies in the last four holes, including on the 18th, to win the tournament by one shot on nine under par.

It was his 15th appearance at the Masters and his 57th major but this was his first victory in one. As so often happens, once you win one it becomes easier and he went on the win The Open Championship that summer as well. It was a great story and a great comeback.

2004 - Mickelson Finally Gets Over The Line

Six years after O’Meara’s victory, Phil Mickelson was widely believed to be the best player to never have won a major. 2004 would be the year that he would remedy that.

Justin Rose was the early leader, and one of my own personal favourites, but he fell away on the Saturday to leave Mickelson and Chris DiMarco tied for the lead on six under par. DiMarco dropped back in the final round but Ernie Els put in fine performance to race up the leaderboard and challenge.

Mickelson held his nerve though, hitting his third consecutive round of 69 and making a birdie on the last to hold off Els by just one shot to finally get over the line at a major. He has gone on to win five more majors including two more at Augusta. That first one will always be sweet though.

2005 - Woods At The 16th

Sometimes the story isn’t necessarily about who wins but how they get there. Sometimes there is a moment which stands out which makes everyone gasp in wonderment and question whether they have just seen what they think they did. 2005 had one of those moments.

It isn’t really remembered that Tiger Woods saw off Chris DiMarco to win his fourth Masters title. What is remembered is what happened on the 16th green. Woods overshot from the tee and ended up in the rough at the back of the green with seemingly no way to get near the hole over the treacherous surface.

At that point in Tiger’s career though, the word impossible didn’t seem to exist. He sent a chip about 20 feet in what looked like the opposite direction from the whole but then watched as the steep gradient of the green pulled the ball towards the hole. Gasps echoed around the crowd as the ball got closer and there was an explosion of noise as it finally tipped over the edge and dropped. It was an incredible moment that was immortalised by a Nike advertisement and many other clips and showed just how special Woods really was.

2011 - McIlroy’s Collapse

Before the rise must come the fall is a saying that comes to mind when thinking about the career of Rory McIlroy at the Masters, and his fall in 2011 was quite spectacular. The Northern Irishman had been in at least a share of the lead of every round and went into the final day with a four-shot advantage.

Yet to win his first major title, McIlroy remained steady over the first nine holes, hitting one over par. His lead had dropped to just one shot though as the pressure built with others playing well. Then came the collapse.

McIlroy hit a wayward tee-shot on the 10th that he couldn’t recover from and ended up making a triple-bogey. He then proceeded to three-putt on 11 to make a bogey there followed by a double-bogey on the 12th. In the end he shot an eight over par round of 80 and ended up ten shots off the lead.

The lead of the tournament had changed hands many times that day but Charl Schwartzel was the man that finally won. McIlroy had learned some valuable lessons about playing under pressure though. In 2025 he finally pulled on the green jacket but it was made even more special by what had happened in 2011.

2016 - Spieth Splashes While Willett Wins

There is a long list of great English golfers that have never won a major tournament; Lee Westwood, Luke Donald, Paul Casey and Ian Poulter to name just a few. Danny Willett is a name that is perhaps not as well known as those others but he is not on that list thanks to a crazy day in the spring of 2016.

Jordan Spieth was widely believed to be golf’s next big thing and had won two majors the previous year including the Masters. In 2016 he had led all the way and when he reached the back nine on Sunday he had a five-shot lead. His hopes took a dive on the 12th hole though when he found the water not once but twice, leading to a quadruple-bogey. Another couple of dropped shots left the tournament wide open and it was Willett, who shot a bogey free five-under par round, who took advantage to take the most unlikely of victories.

2019 - Tiger’s Redemption

Augusta National is a golf course that has had some incredible Tiger Woods moments over the years from his breakthrough victory in 1997 to the multitude of amazing shots he has made, but nothing really compares to his victory in 2019.

Tiger had been to hell and back; ravaged by injuries, scandal in his personal life and a drop in form that had meant 11 years without a major victory. It just wasn’t on the cards that he would ever win another. But this was Augusta and Tiger knew the course as well as anyone else in history.

Unlike his other major victories, Tiger didn’t blow anyone away but rather played consistently throughout, waiting on others to make mistakes and then capitalising on them with perfect timing. It was the first major that he had won when he didn’t have the lead after three rounds. The crowd were behind him though and he could sense the chance to make history once more.

Despite a bogey on the last, he won by one shot and let out a primal scream that seemed to wash away all of the controversy that had gone before.

Tiger was back and it was joyful to watch.

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These moments are by no means an exhaustive list of what has gone on at Augusta over the last 30 years that I have been watching. Rather they are just some of the ones that stand out for me. I’m sure that many of you have your own Masters moments that spring to mind every year when the tournament comes around and I would love to hear about them if you do.

For now, it looks like Rory might go back-to-back, leading by six shots at the halfway stage of the 2026 tournament. There is still a lot of golf to play though and perhaps someone can make a charge to create another memorable moment.