The Shot Heard Round the World
1935.
No single shot did more to put the Masters on the map than Gene Sarazen's double eagle on the par-5 15th hole during the final round of the 1935 tournament.
Trailing leader Craig Wood by three strokes, Sarazen struck a 4-wood from 235 yards that landed on the green and rolled directly into the cup for an albatross -- a two on a hole with a par of five. The shot erased his deficit in one stroke and propelled him into a 36-hole playoff the next day, which he won by five shots.
Sportswriter Grantland Rice immortalized the moment as the shot heard round the world, a phrase that still attaches itself to the 15th hole nearly a century later.
At the time, the tournament was barely two years old and still fighting for national attention; Sarazen's miracle shot, chased by newsreel cameras, is widely credited with transforming the fledgling Augusta National Invitation into must-follow sporting theater.
A plaque near the 15th fairway marks the spot to this day, and the hole remains one of the most pivotal risk-reward tests in major championship golf.
