The Last Putt,

With the recent conclusion of the NFL season, many Americans, myself included have to wonder what they will do on a Sunday afternoon.  Some will turn to the NBA, while others will wait for the MLB to resume.  I myself am planning on playing more golf.  While one of the more difficult sports to master, golf is also one of the most rewarding.  The PGA, Professional Golfers Association, recently placed an article on their website listing the top ten most exciting putts of all time.  Anyone who's ever played the sport can tell you that there is no better feeling than sinking a 20 foot putt.  Even those that can blast 300 yard drives will tell you that as nerve racking as the first drive is, there is no comparison to the shaking in the bones that a long birdie putt on the 18th green brings.


Currently the PGA has the late Payne Stewart's photo after sinking a putt to win the 1999 U.S. Open, and this putt has gone down in history as the number 2 greatest putt of all time.  The following is a quote from pga.com, "Just months before his death in a horrible plane crash, Stewart left golf fans around the world with one putt we'd never forget. With the rain falling down on an early June evening at Pinehurst, Stewart holed a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the tournament on Father's Day. His reaction with the fist in the air is iconic."  Unfortunately Payne Stewart left us shortly thereafter when the plane he was flying in lost pressurization and all on bored passed on from a lack of oxygen.  However, Payne Stewart's legacy as one of the greatest golfer's of all time is fondly remembered by this last putt on Hole 18.  No doubt Payne Stewart cherished this putt as well.  Golfers are not remembered by how far they can hit the ball or how strong their fairway play is.  No, they are remembered for the shortest shot in all of golf, the putt.