The 5 shots that define the magic of the Masters

Before the start of the Masters on Thursday, here’s a trip down memory lane and a look back at the greatest shots ever hit at Augusta National.

The Masters conjures up images of blooming azaleas, rolling green fairways and magnolia trees. Every April, the world’s best golfers descend on Augusta National in an attempt to win the coveted Green Jacket.

Since the tournament was founded by Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts in 1934, only a select few of the game’s greatest players have been able to call themselves Masters champion. An even more exclusive group did it with a shot that will live on in Masters lore as long as the last tree is still standing in Magnolia Lane.

Here are the five greatest shots in Masters history.

5. Bubba Watson, 2012, 10th hole (playoff)

Bubba Watson is known mostly for two things in his PGA Tour career: long drives and his ability to curve the golf ball. That latter skill was never more evident than in 2012 with the Green Jacket on the line.

Making his fourth Masters appearance in 2012, Watson came into the final round three shots off the lead. It was his playing partner Louis Oosthuizen, though, who made the first move on that Sunday. Oosthuizen made a double eagle at the par-five second hole, jumping to 10-under for the tournament and two shots clear of the field. He still led Watson by two after 12 holes, but that’s when Watson started to make his own charge. He birdied four holes in a row beginning at the 13th to tie Oosthuizen, and after neither could birdie the closing two holes they headed back to the 18th tee for a sudden-death playoff.

Watson had a good chance to win on that first hole, narrowly missing a 10-footer for birdie. Needing a second extra hole, this time they went to the 10th, a difficult 495-yard par-four. Oosthuizen left his drive in the rough on the right of the fairway. Watson took out his driver and tried to hit a cut. The problem was the ball never moved, finishing in the trees on the right and lying on pine straw. Oosthuizen came up short of the green with his second shot, but Watson was faced with a difficult shot of his own, with no clear path to the green. That’s when his wizardry with the golf ball came in hand.

Despite the tough lie, Watson never doubted he could reach the green. “As soon as I get to my ball I’m pumped up because I can see the shot,” he told Golf.com in 2013. “I know immediately I can pull it off. Of course, by pull the shot off, I mean hit the green. I’m not thinking about hitting it next to the hole. That’s once in a lifetime.”

Watson took out his gap wedge from 164 yards and curved the ball left to right through the trees. When it finally came down, it was within 10 feet of the hole and safely on the green. Oosthuizen failed to get up-and-down, leaving Watson a two-putt for par to win his first Masters title. He went on to win a second Green Jacket in 2014.