Top 10 US Opens

Golf list compiler extraordinaire Mak Lok-lin selects the most memorable editions of America's national championship

4. Watson's Chip (1982)

Watson's decisive hole-out on the seventeenth at Pebble BeachThe US Open was seen as the one major Tom Watson seemed destined not to win. A bit like Greg Norman and the Masters, Watson had come so close so often but it just wouldn't happen for him. In his previous eight efforts, he had six top 10 finishes. Nevertheless, after three rounds at Pebble Beach, Watson was tied for the lead with Bill Rogers, who had won the Open Championship the year before. Jack Nicklaus was hovering with intent. In the final round, both Watson and Rogers struggled early on, while Nicklaus was unstoppable, birdying five consecutive holes on the front nine. Watson finally got it going around the turn by holing several lengthy putts to either save par or many birdie. After 16 holes he was tied with the Golden Bear. At the par-three seventeenth he pulled his tee shot badly into thick rough above the hole. When his caddie, Bruce Edwards, urged him to put it close, Watson snapped back: “Get in close? Hell, I'm going to sink it.” True to his word, Watson somehow managed to coax the ball into the hole before closing with another birdie for a memorable two-shot win. For high drama, this edition of the championship couldn't be beaten and it put Pebble Beach firmly on the US Open roster. It's hard to believe that 1982 was only the second US Open to be held there and it became – and remains – one of the most popular venues.

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