By Ryan Herrington
What might have been? That’s what Mito Pereira will be thinking for a while in the wake of the 104th PGA Championship. With 71 holes down, and one to play at Southern Hills, the 27-year-old from Chile needed a par on the home hole to close out a one-stroke win and become the first golfer from his homeland to win a major championship.

Instead, his drive found the creek right of the hole, and he could do no better than double bogey. Rather than of joining a list of rookies to win in their first PGA Championship appearance, he joins an ignominious group of golfers who have seen a major slip from their hands on the 72nd hole.

And, oh, what a group it is. Here are some of the most memorable 72nd-hole men’s major collapses:

Sam Snead, 1939 US Open
It was the one that got away for Snead after making a triple-bogey on the 18th hole at Philadelphia Country Club, falling two strokes back of a playoff between Byron Nelson, Craig Wood and Denny Shute. Snead never won a US Open, keeping him from being another member of the career Grand Slam club.

Ben Hogan, 1946 Masters
Herman Keiser’s three-putt on the 18th gave Hogan a birdie chance for the title. But then Hogan three-putted himself from from 12 feet for bogey that allowed Keiser to claim his lone major championship title. Hogan would get redemption with Masters wins in 1951 and 1953.

Gary Player. Bettman

Arnold Palmer, 1961 Masters
Palmer looked like he would be the first repeat winner at Augusta National, needing just a par on the 18th hole. After hitting the fairway, Palmer pushed his approach into a greenside bunker. He hit his third off the green, failed to get his fourth anywhere near the hole. An eventual double bogey allowed Gary Player to win and become the first international player to slip on a green jacket.

Doug Sanders, 1970 Open Championship
A short miss for par on the 18th at the Old Course cost Sanders the Claret Jug, dropping him into a playoff with Jack Nicklaus that he would lose the next day. Standing over the par putt, Sanders picked at a piece of brown grass, but then never restarted his putting routine, burning the right edge with his putt for victory.

Ed Sneed, 1979 Masters
Three shots in front with three holes left, Sneed proceeded to bogey 16, 17 and 18. It dropped him into a playoff with Fuzzy Zoeller and Tom Watson, the first of the sudden-death variety rather than a full 18 holes. Zoeller’s birdie on the second extra hole made him the second Masters rookie (and most recent) to win the green jacket.

Jean van de Velde. Getty Images

Jean Van de Velde, 1999 Open Championship
The Frenchman had a three-shot cushion stepping on to the 18th at Carnoustie, then proceeded to make all sorts of mistakes, starting with driver off the tee and then a third shot into the Barry Burn, en route to a triple-bogey 7. He could have made amends in a playoff, but eventually fell to Paul Lawrie.

Phil Mickelson.

Phil Mickelson, 2006 US Open
The most painful of Mickelson’s six runner-up finishes in the US Open came at Winged Foot, where Lefty needed a par to win, but hit a wayward drive, hit a tree with his second shot and tripped up with a double bogey to miss a playoff.

Tom Watson, 2009 Open Championship
A sixth Claret Jug and the honour of being the oldest winner of a major championship was there for the 59-year-old at Turnberry if he was able to make par on the 18th. But his approach just went long and he couldn’t get up-and-down from back of the green. He then fell to Stewart Cink in a four-hole aggregate playoff.

Dustin Johnson. Getty Images

Dustin Johnson, 2010 PGA Championship
DJ birdied the 16th and 17th at Whistling Straits for a one-shot lead, but pushed his drive on the 18th into a waste area. Surrounded by fans, he hit his approach to the green, and scrambled for bogey to seemingly get into a playoff with Martin Kaymer and Bubba Watson. But rules officials alerted him behind the 18th green he actually grounded his club in the sand, which was a breach of Rule 13.4 and added two more strokes to his score.

You might also like:
Rory and the PGA have a major problem
18 takeaways from the PGA Championship
Justin has a drive to win
Mito the surprise leader at PGA Championship
Tiger withdraws ahead of PGA Championship final round
Zalatoris putting things right
McIlroy misses big chance at PGA Championship
Rory McIlroy swing analysis
Is Tiger’s style holding him back?
Rory leads the way at Southern Hills
Forget Dubai, check out the prices for drinks at PGA Championship
Dubai golfer Amelia McKee going pro

The post The most infamous 72nd-hole collapses in men’s major championship history appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Stephen Hennessey
To most, Carnoustie Golf Links is known as the toughest test in the Open Championship rota. You know the Barry Burn—that snaking ribbon of water that has bitten winners and losers alike, from Paddy Harrington in 2007 and Jean Van De Velde in 1999. Do you know much about the course beyond that?

Though Allan Robertson is credited with the first layout at Carnoustie around 1842, golf in this area dates back to the sixteenth century, so it’s not farfetched to consider golf has been played on the ground of Carnoustie for 500 or so years. That’s serious history. Like most Scottish courses, Old Tom Morris is part of Carnoustie’s history. The legendary groundskeeper and course designer extended the original 10-hole layout to 18 holes in 1867. Prominent tournaments were held here in subsequent years, though it wasn’t until five-time Open winner James Braid came to Carnoustie in 1926 to make some updates. Five years later, Carnoustie hosted its first Open Championship.

You might know Ben Hogan won the 1953 Open here, in what’s considered to be one of the best years in major championship history (he won three majors, and all five tournaments he entered). But the early major history is impressive—Tommy Armour in 1931, Henry Cotton in 1937, Hogan in 1953, Gary Player in 1968 and Tom Watson in 1975.

Carnoustie measures just 7,402 yards from the tips, but when the wind blows over this Angus links, it truly becomes one of golf’s toughest tests. Here’s a look at some of the most notable features of what is often referred to as Carnasty.

David Cannon/R&A

A view from the Carnoustie Golf Hotel looking down the par-4 first hole ‘Cup’.

David Cannon/R&A

The first hole plays to a blind green that requires a shot over a high mound.

David Cannon/R&A

The par-4 second hole, nicknamed ‘Gulley,’ has a narrow landing area, demanding accuracy with your tee shot.

David Cannon/R&A

A delicate pitch is required over the stream known as “Jockie’s Burn” at the third hole. This flow of water comes into play on four of the first six holes at Carnoustie.

David Cannon/R&A

A view of the approach to the green on the par-4, third hole ‘Jockie’s Burn’.

David Cannon/R&A

The approach to the green on the par-4 fourth hole ‘Hillocks’.

David Cannon/R&A

The approach to the green on the par-4 fifth hole ‘Brae’ hole.

David Cannon/R&A

A view from behind the green on the par-4, fifth hole.

David Cannon/R&A

A more zoomed-out view from behind the green on the fifth hole.

David Cannon/R&A

A view of the approach to the green on the par-5, sixth hole ‘Hogan’s Alley’.

David Cannon/R&A

There are a number of “Hogan’s Alleys” in golf, most notably Riviera Country Club, site of Hogan winning three L.A. Opens, and the 1948 U.S. Open. And there is Colonial Country Club, where Hogan won the Colonial tournament five times in his career. But the sixth hole at Carnoustie is quite literally called “Hogan’s Alley,” an ode to his 1953 Open title. His knee so ravaged from his near-fatal car accident, Hogan didn’t even play a practice round—instead of walking the course backwards from the 18th green to the first tee, to get a look at it.

David Cannon/R&A

The tee shot at the par-4, seventh hole ‘Plantation’.

David Cannon/R&A

Behind the green at the par-3, eighth hole ‘Short’.

David Cannon/R&A

A view from behind the tee on the par-4, ninth hole ‘Railway’. As the story goes, Jack Nicklaus pointed to a large mound in the middle of the fairway as being unfair. When the Open was back seven years later, a bunker had replaced that mound.

David Cannon/R&A

A view of the approach to the green on the par-4, 10th hole ‘South America’.

According to local knowledge, ‘South America’ comes from a local caddie who was intent on making it to that faraway land. Armed with a bottle of Scotch whisky, this caddie made it only as far as the 10th hole, thus the hole’s name.

David Cannon/R&A

The tee shot at the par-4, 12th hole ‘Southward Ho’.

David Cannon/R&A

A view from the left side of the fairway at the 12th hole.

David Cannon/R&A

The par-3 13th hole ‘Whins’.

David Cannon/R&A

A view of the approach to the green on the par-5 14th hole with its ‘Spectacles Bunkers’.

David Cannon/R&A

A view of the approach to the green on the par-4 15th hole ‘Lucky Slap.’

David Cannon/R&A

A view from behind the green on the par-4 15th hole ‘Lucky Slap.’

David Cannon/R&A

A view from behind the green on the par-3 16th hole ‘Barry Burn’.

Though James Braid is credited with the current layout, the club’s greens chairman in 1931, James Wright, created the design for the final three holes—and you’d be hard-pressed to find three tougher finishing holes in golf. That starts with the demanding par-3 16th hole. It can play as far back as 248 yards.

David Cannon/R&A

A view from the tee on the par-4 17th hole ‘Island’.

David Cannon/R&A

A view of the approach to the green on the par-4 17th hole ‘Island’.

David Cannon/R&A

A view of the approach to the green on the par-4 finishing hole.

From Van de Velde and Johnny Miller—who failed to get up and down from one of the bunkers at 18 to get into a playoff with Jack Nicklaus and Jack Newton in the 1975 Open, to Paddy Harrington, who held on with a double bogey to force extra holes, the 18th hole has decided many a fate at the Open, and likely will again on Sunday.

David Cannon/R&A

A view from the Carnoustie Golf Hotel, overlooking the ‘Home’ hole (right) and the par-4, first hole (left).

The post The Open 2018: Carnoustie Golf Links: Course Tour appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Irish Padraig Harrington chips the ball across a burn after taking a drop for playing into the water on the 18th hole during the final round of the 2007 Open.

Scottish golfer Thomas Armour drives from the bunker during the 1931 Open.

Jean Van De Velde of France looks at his ball in the burn on the 18th hole during the 1999 British Open.

A woman sits on the ground after she was hit by defending champion Tiger Woods’ ball on the 6th hole during the third round of the 136th British Open Golf Championship.

Ben Hogan crosses a stream on the Carnoustie Golf Course while a huge crowd awaits his next shot in the British Open Championship. The American champ, favoured from the start, got progressively better under the grinding pressure, shooting a record 68 in the final round to win with a total of 282.

Ian Poulter of England hits a shot on the 15th hole during the third round of The 136th Open Championship.

Tiger Woods of the USA in action during the British Open played at the Carnoustie GC in Carnoustie, Scotland.

Miguel Martin of Spain escapes a pot bunker during the British Open.

Greg Norman of Australia plays out of the rough during the 1999 British Open.

Jack Nicklaus plays a difficult shot by a burn during his first round in the 1968 Open.

Soren Hansen of Denmark plays from a bunker on the 16th hole in front of the hotel during the third round of the 2007 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Sergio Garcia of Spain reacts to a missed par putt on the 18th green that would have won the 2007 Open. He went on to lose in a playoff to Padraig Harrington.

French golfer Jean Van de Velde takes his 5th shot on the 18th green in the final round of the British Open Championship at Carnoustie, Scotland, 18th July 1999. Having arrived at the 18th tee with a three-shot lead, Van de Velde narrowly lost the championship to Paul Lawrie.

The post The Open 2018: 13 pictures of Carnoustie in all its nastiness appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 2017 Open Championship is one we’ll never forget for many reasons, but the image that will undoubtedly stand the test of time is that of Jordan Spieth hitting a 3-iron from the range, next to a Titleist truck, over a huge mound, without really knowing the yardage, all after a 20-minute delay. It led to an incredible bogey save that sparked Spieth’s remarkable final five-hole stretch, ending with him lifting the claret jug.

Earlier this week, Spieth signed and sent the famous 3-iron back to Royal Birkdale, where it will be on display for years to come. In light of this news, we thought of some other indelible golf mementos that also deserve their place in history.

The 1999 U.S. Ryder Cup Shirt

Two words: Fire Flames.

All of the clubs Jean van de Velde used on the 18th hole in the 1999 British Open at Carnoustie

David Cannon

The driver, the 2-iron, the wedge, the putter, hell throw the shoes and socks in there, too.

Tiger Woods’ mock turtleneck

Icon Sports Wire

Among Tiger’s many accolades, perhaps the most impressive is that he won at Augusta while wearing a t-shirt. Truly remarkable.

Rory’s alarm clock from the 2012 Ryder Cup

Hero Images

Were iPhones not a thing five years ago? They literally change the time to whichever time zone you’re in.

Roberto De Vicenzo’s 1968 Masters scorecard

Bettmann

Yes, the Rules of Golf lacked common sense in 1968, and still do now. Shocking stuff.

Ian Woosnam’s 15th club from the 2001 British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYV-csdgRv0

Not many know who caddie Miles Byrne is… but we do know he had one job.

Robert Allenby’s bar tab from Hawaii

Does this guy know how to party or what?

Dustin Johnson’s socks from his 2017 Masters fall

Image by cesarr t.

We are, of course, assuming that the staircase was one of those slippery hardwood ones.

The fire hydrant Tiger Woods’ crashed into

Caja Digital

Sorry, we had to.

Anthony Kim’s ‘AK’ belt

Sam Greenwood

Swagger on a billion.

Woody Austin’s Presidents Cup goggles

Scott Halleran

One of like three things the Presidents Cup is known for. Not sure what that says about the event.

Jordan Spieth’s divot from the 12th hole at the 2016 Masters

David Cannon

Can you frame grass? If so, probably going to need a large frame for this sod.

Martin Kaymer’s scarf thing

Hitting the slopes or playing in the WGC-Accenture Match Play? Hard to tell.

The post 13 other great golf mementos that deserve their place in history appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.