Hard putts looking easy at Bay Hill’s 18th on Sunday - PGA TOUR/Perform Media

ORLANDO, Fla. – Tiger Woods didn’t always pour in putts on Bay Hill’s 18th green.

But those previous misses paid off when he was trying to hold off Phil Mickelson in the final round of the 2001 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. They were the top two players in the world and tied atop the leaderboard. Mickelson already had signed his scorecard, while Woods was facing a finishing hole that was playing a half-stroke over par.

Just five players had birdied the 18th hole all day. After hitting a 5-iron onto the green, Woods faced a curling 15-footer for his second win at Mr. Palmer’s place. He figured the putt would break a foot to the right. He’d missed it low before, though, so he added a couple inches to his read.

“I hit the putt just the way I wanted to and it took its time breaking,” Woods said. “But once it started snapping, it went sideways and caught the hole.”

Now it feels like it’s impossible for players to miss on Bay Hill’s final green. Left-to-right putts are supposed to be anathema for right-handers, but it has become an annual tradition for the champion at Bay Hill to cap off his win by curling in one last birdie putt on the 72nd hole. Woods has done it three times, as have the past two winners.

Since ShotLink started measuring shots in 2003, the winners of the Arnold Palmer Invitational have holed 168 feet of putts on the 72nd hole. That’s more than any other event. This despite a traditional Sunday hole location that’s tucked behind water and cut on a steep slope.

Richie Hunt, a statistical consultant for several TOUR players, says that players make about 5% fewer putts from 15-20 feet to that hole location than the TOUR average. Woods’ influence cannot be understated, though. He’s made a hard putt look easy, and everyone, including TOUR players, has seen the highlights on repeat.

“Every player has seen Tiger make all those putts on that green, so they know it can be done,” said NBC analyst Gary Koch, who won at Bay Hill in 1984.

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Hard putts looking easy at Bay Hill’s 18th on Sunday - PGA TOUR/Perform Media
"easy" - Google News
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