25 years after Tiger Woods electrified the Phoenix Open with an epic hole-in-one, we relive the excitement with an oral history of the golfer’s indelible shot on 16.
Making his Phoenix Open debut in 1997, 21-year-old Tiger Woods already had three PGA Tour wins under his belt and was a budding superstar.
By the end of the week, his stature was greater than ever, due to one memorable hole. Playing the par-3 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale during the third round, he unleashed a shot that awed spectators, captured the sports world’s attention and lifted a once-mid-tier tournament to new heights – all with one swing of his 9-iron. This is the story of that fabled shot, told through the recollections of the athletes, journalists and organizers who saw it in person.
Just a year removed from Stanford University, Woods arrived in Arizona riding a sudden-death win over 1996 PGA Player of the Year Tom Lehman at the 1997 Mercedes Championships in California just a few weeks prior. After his defeat, Lehman told reporters, “Tom Lehman was the Player of the Year, but Tiger Woods is probably the player of the next two decades.”
Jock Holliman, Thunderbird organizer and 16th hole marshal: “There was a buzz about Tiger coming into the tournament. I personally was in the ‘Show me’ stage, because the transition to pro golf is five levels up from college golf. But he already had those five levels baked in. He was ready. And wow, did he take off.”
After consecutive 68s, Woods entered Saturday’s third round tied for 12th place, 10 strokes behind leader Steve Jones. Meanwhile, the crowd at the 16th hole was living up to its rowdy reputation.
Gary Van Sickle, Sports Illustrated golf writer: “I must’ve been out there that day to try to get some local color of the scene at the wild and crazy 16th. I actually sat in the crowd on the small mound just behind the tee. Great view of the hole. I was there for 90 minutes or so, and either I’d gotten enough scenes or I’d gotten not much of anything and realized I needed to be back at the scoring area [at the clubhouse] to talk to a few players.”
Jock Holliman: “The 16th hole was much different back then. On the south side there were maybe eight or nine little skyboxes. The hillside behind the tee box was very close to the back of the tee box. That area really became popular five or six years earlier because all the ASU kids would come out on Friday, drink beer and wait for Phil [Mickelson] to come through. I would guess there were maybe 10,000 people around the hole that day, but a lot of them came to the 16th with Tiger since they were following him throughout his round.”
Woods was paired that Saturday with Omar Uresti, a squat, 29-year-old Texan who would never win in nearly 380 career starts on the PGA Tour. No one expected Uresti, who had the honors on the 16th hole, to upstage the youngster with his own superb tee shot. But he did just that, elevating the crowd’s excitement level even higher.
Omar Uresti: “I get up there first and hit a really good shot to about 2½ feet behind the hole on the right side. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of thinking to myself, ‘Let’s see you hit it closer than that.’”
Jock Holliman: “I was standing on the back left side of the tee box holding up a QUIET sign, which helped settle people down. Omar hit his 9-iron close to the hole and people went nuts. It took us about two minutes to get the crowd to settle down for Tiger to hit his shot. I’ll never forget the look in his eyes; he was just locked in and laser-focused on the
golf ball.”
It was likely the noisiest, largest, most disruptive gallery Woods had ever encountered as a competitive golfer. He recounted the experience in a post-round interview with ESPN.
Tiger Woods: “It was just a soft 9-[iron]. The hardest part was getting your focus, because everybody was going crazy. Once I got my focus, I just tried to hit a nice, high, soft cut, and the rest is history.”
The estimated 10,000 fans at the hole managed to quiet themselves to a deep, throbbing rumble in the moments before Woods, wearing a navy blue Nike cap and matching parachute pants, launched the ball over the fairway and onto the green, where it bounced once about 6 feet in front of the cup, then another short bounce, then into the hole for an ace.
Jock Holliman: “As soon as he hit it, it was crazy. I was standing probably 10 feet from him. The crowd exploded, and the beer cans and cups started flying after the ball went in. That was the first time I saw him do the fist pump, which became his trademark move.”
The wild celebration that followed Woods’ ace left a lasting impression on both players.
Tiger Woods: “I don’t know if it was louder when I made it or when I was walking off the tee. It was unbelievable. I was in the fitness trailer [after the round] just talking to the guys, and they could hear it like it was right next to them up around the clubhouse. It was ridiculous how loud it was. It was actually kind of deafening.”
Omar Uresti: “I just kind of shook my head to myself and thought, ‘Only Tiger.’ The crowd just went nuts. I already had them going after my shot, and they just went crazy. They say [the crowd reaction] rattled the windows up in the clubhouse, which was about 600-700 yards away, so it was a very loud roar.”
At a press conference before the 2015 Waste Management Phoenix Open, Woods reflected on the shot.
Tiger Woods: “I went old school [with his celebration], raise the roof. [Thrusts his hands palm-up toward the sky.] That was the thing in the day. And then on top of that, just smelling and hearing the beer hit behind me [while he was walking off the tee box]. To turn around and see all this beer flying was crazy.”
Even for those elsewhere on the TPC Scottsdale property that day, including two media members, the resulting ovation Woods received was unforgettable.
Gary Van Sickle: “I was standing on that paved ramp that leads down to the media room [in the clubhouse basement] interviewing Nick Price when this big roar washed over the clubhouse from out on the course. Nick stopped talking for just a moment and then said, ‘That must be 16 – that’s a hole in one!’ And when the roar continued and got even louder, he looked at me with a strange smile and added, ‘That’s Tiger!’ I knew he was right. I don’t recall if he went with me – probably not – but I hustled down into the media room to check a TV for the replay and yep, it was Tiger. I was pissed off that I’d been out there in the perfect spot to see all the mayhem and missed it.”
John Davis, The Arizona Republic sportswriter: “As soon as he hit the ball [Davis was watching on TV in the clubhouse media center], the fans were in an uproar, and it didn’t really stop until after he took the ball out of the hole. For that volume of cheering to last that long was pretty impressive. I covered many Masters, and Augusta National Golf Club is known for the roars that spread through the course. But I have never heard of one that volume and that lasted that long as I did that day at TPC Scottsdale.”
Jock Holliman: “The crowd sounded like a 747 taking off. The decibel level just rose and kept on going. I had some friends playing that day at Grayhawk Golf Club, which is 3 miles north of TPC Scottsdale. They said they heard the roar.”
The electric atmosphere subsided quickly after Woods moved onto the 17th hole, but the 16th hole – today completely encircled by 3,700 general admission seats and 285 skyboxes, providing room for 20,000-plus fans – would never be the same again.
Tiger Woods: “Then the more eerie part was, when we were playing 17 and 18, everybody didn’t really care because they were walking in. They had seen what they wanted to see and 16 was empty. We looked back on 16 and saw all those beer cups on the tee and probably, maybe, an eighth of the people that were there. Everybody was taking their way around and walking up here [toward the clubhouse] headed to the Birds Nest, Crows Nest, whatever it is. Some nest over there.”
Jock Holliman: “I think the Tiger hole-in-one created a level of anticipation and excitement for that hole. Phil started it. Tiger put the cherry on the pie. It’s the most recognizable and talked-about hole on planet Earth. I don’t think there’s any question. I’ve played golf in Australia and Europe, and they all know about the 16th hole.”
Despite the famous ace – just the fourth on the 16th hole since the tournament moved to TPC Scottsdale in 1987 – Woods finished tied for 18th overall, well behind winner and then-Valley resident Steve Jones. He still managed a fairly decent career, however, winning 15 majors and 82 championships overall on the PGA Tour. He played in three more Waste Management Phoenix Opens, with top-5 finishes in 1999 and 2001 and a missed cut in 2015.
