Hale Irwin’s swing and a miss, 1983 — Hale Irwin and Tom Watson were going toe-to-toe in the final round at Royal Birkdale in 1983, and Irwin needed a par on the 14th hole to keep up with the pace. He’d nearly holed out from 20 feet for a birdie and was inches away. Then, in a moment of casual carelessness, he went to tap in his next putt and … missed. His putter hit the ground and bounced over the ball, costing him a stroke. The worst part? Irwin finished just one shot behind Watson. (Pictured: Irwin not making the same mistake at the Ryder Cup in 1981.)Ian Woosnam’s double trouble, 2001 — Tied for the lead going into the final round, Welshman Woosnam was chasing a late career major at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2001. He got off to a flier, nearly scoring a hole-in-one on the first hole. What would’ve become a birdie turned into a bogey, however, when it was discovered that he had 15 clubs in his bag — one more than the legal limit. A two-stroke penalty was the result, and the offending wood was promptly hurled out of the bag by Woosnam. He never recovered his momentum and finished tied third.Jean van de Velde finds himself up a creek without a paddle, 1999 — The mother of all golfing implosions, Frenchman Jean van de Velde led by three shots on the final tee of the 1999 Open at Carnoustie. But after an errant tee shot, an overhit iron, and a hack out of long grass, his ball had found the Barry Burn stream. Van de Velde waded into the Burn, trousers rolled up, contemplating playing his shot out of the water rather than take the penalty drop. He retrieved his ball in the end and took the penalty, only to chip into a bunker. His putt could only force a three-way playoff, which the Frenchman subsequently lost. The image of van de Velde’s mirthless smile in the stream is so iconic, it’s easy to forget the Frenchman never actually played the shot.
