10 Best Recovery Shots on the PGA TOUR

Sometimes the guys on TOUR are faced with the difficult decision of whether to take an unplayable lie or try to be a hero.  Unlike us however, the TOUR’s top pros are also well aware of the fact whether the outcome is excellent or disastrous they’ll most likely make the next morning’s highlight reels.

That said, here are 10 of the best recovery shots on TOUR, some old and some new:

10. Matt Kuchar’s Backhanded Wedge at the Infamous 17th at Sawgrass.  

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Kuchar went on to 2-putt this for bogey and ended up missing the cut at the 2015 PLAYERS Championship.  We guess he had no choice but to go for it to try and get in tot he weekend.  Nice try Kuch!

9.  Mickelson’s Cart Path Shot

[embedyt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7y0tR3IeiM&width=742&height=419[/embedyt]

This sticky situation happened during the opening round of the 2013 WGC – Cadillac Championship and Phil ended up putting the 47-yard approach shot from the cart path on the par-4 17th hole to nine feet from the cup.  Of course Lefty would go on to sink the putt for birdie—how’s that for a recovery!  Thank you Phil for reminding us that sometimes we don’t get relief out there and we have to just roll with the punches.

8. Kyle Stanley Avoids the Prickly Cactus

[embedyt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-JMer-pQiU&width=742&height=419[/embedyt]

In the final round of the 2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open, Kyle Stanley knocked an amazing approach shot from underneath a cactus plant on the par-4 17th hole.  Stanley went on to win his first and only PGA TOUR event by beating Ben Crane by one stroke.  Looks like this tricky shot was a deciding factor.

7. Jim Furyk’s Approach Shot Was a Little “Rocky”

[embedyt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixYNTaqVmys&width=742&height=419[/embedyt]

In the final round of the 2015 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Jim Furyk took a chance on hitting a blind shot from the cliffs to get it back into the fairway on the par-5 6th hole.  After his 54 yard recovery shot, Jim still had 200 yards left  where he knocked it to 40 ft and 2-putted for par.  The PGA TOUR veteran went on to finish T7 that week.

6. Just Another Brick in The Wall for Jimenez

[embedyt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwDVw-EVOkY&width=742&height=558[/embedyt]

Miguel Angel Jimenez overshot the green, as many do, on the road hole at St. Andrews but ended up salvaging what could have been a disaster after deciding to ricochet his shot off the wall to land in on the green.  Leave it to Jimenez to take the road less traveled.  Well done sir…

5. Schwartzel Takes the Long Road

[embedyt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z70XlpjnEb8&width=742&height=419[/embedyt]

If you or I were to try this shot on the weekend, 10 times out of 10 the ball ends up somewhere it will never be found again.  Charl Schwarztel on the other hand knocked this incredible shot to within feet from from the pin with no view of the green or spin control.  And you wonder why they get paid to play golf and we don’t.  Charl ended up finishing T15 that week.

4.  Tiger’s Buried at the Memorial

[embedyt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xFMPjDaTaU&width=742&height=419[/embedyt]

You may be wondering why a routine chip shot made this list of the PGA TOUR’s top 10 recovery shots but watch the video and think about it.  When your ball is buried in thick, deep rough, on a downhill slope with water 20 yards in front there are about 15,000 things that can go wrong.  Add to that the pressure of playing for a million bucks and you simply have to be perfect.  Just getting this ball onto the green would have been good enough but Tiger decided to drop it in the hole and go on to win the event.  The announcers in this video describe the scenario perfectly.

3. Dan Forsman Holes Out from No Man’s Land

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In the 1997 Buick Open, Dan Forsman was faced with an impossible shot from far off the fairway.  With almost no view of his target Forsman wanted to at best just getit close to the green. With what most thought was going to trickle into the green side bunker ended up dropping into the hole.

2. Sergio Has Tree Problems

[embedyt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLlQ8FeVto0&width=742&height=558[/embedyt]

In the final round of the 2013 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, Sergio decided to hit his second shot from a tree near the fairway on the par-4 10th hole with a one-handed, backward swing for the ages. The shot didn’t matter since Sergio later withdrew from the event (some speculate that he injured himself when he hopped down from the tree) but it’s certainly a replay that will live on for many years to come.

1. Bill Haas Escapes the Water to Win $10 Million 

[embedyt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_69ahipYlV4&width=742&height=419[/embedyt]

In a playoff versus Hunter Mahan in the 2011 TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola, Haas knew he had no choice but to try to up and down this shot to save par.  His brave efforts not only won him the event but it also clinched him the FedExCup title and a whopping $10 million first prize.  We’re not sure about you, but for $10 million we’d try this shot even with a few alligators in the water.

What is your all-time favorite recovery shot from the PGA TOUR?  Let us know by leaving your comments below.