The US Amateur Championship has a special place in Woods’ heart. Before all the PGA Tours wins and Major Championships, Tiger Woods scripted history with three successive victories at the amateur championship, the only player to achieve this feat.

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1994 US Amateur Final Round – Woods vs Kuehne

Woods had already made waves in the amateur golf community after his trio of victories at the US Junior Amateur championship. In his first senior event, Tiger didn’t have the best of starts, finding himself 6 down after 13 holes of the 36-hole championship final. Even with 12 holes remaining, he had gained only one hole back.

But right at the end, following a birdie on the par-5 16th hole, Tiger caught up with leader Trip Kuehne.

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What followed at the 17th hole will be talked about for generations to come.

Tiger Woods and his amazing tee shot at the 17th

The 3-par 17th hole at the TPC Sawgrass is a rather short hole, with the distance from tee to hole accounting for a mere 137 yards. But here’s the catch; a few yards left, right or long will result in the ball falling in the surrounding water penalty area.

When Tiger drove his shot from the tee, he targeted the ball to land on the green. Just as it touched down, though, did he realize it was a few yards off, and the ball had a real chance of bouncing off to the water body. However, the ball spun back and came to rest at a favorable distance of 14 yards out from the hole. The fans went nuts:

As the commentator mentioned himself, “That is a combination of being very good and very lucky.”

As the clip went viral on social media, fans couldn’t keep their emotions under wraps.

Tiger went on to score a birdie and ensured the win after Kuehne’s three-putted bogey. The victory marked the first of three consecutive wins for Woods, with the other victories coming against fellow Americans Buddy Marucci and Steve Scott.

What happened after the 1994 US Amateur?

The win kick-started Woods’s career, and within a year, he was tied for 41st as an amateur at the 1995 Masters tournament. He would eventually echo his name in the history books with a record 82 wins on the PGA Tour. As for the runner-up, Trip Kuehne refused to go pro in golf and remains a successful amateur golfer.

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