SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- By now you've seen the highlight a few dozen times. You can see here it again right on this website. And undoubtedly you'll see it some more this weekend if you tune in to the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Tiger Woods has hit a lot of memorable shots in his career, but his ace at the TPC Scottsdale's 16th hole in 1997 remains high on the list -- even 18 years later.
Woods had been a pro barely six months when he dunked his tee shot at the raucous 16th, sending beer cups flying and spectators who surround the hole into delirium.
"I think I broke Fluff's hand,'' Woods said, referring to the slap he gave his then-caddie, Mike "Fluff'' Cowan. "And then old-school, back in the day, raised the roof, that was the thing in the day.
"Then on top of that, just smelling and hearing the beer hit behind me on the tee box.''
That was one of three aces for Woods in his PGA Tour career, the last coming in 1998 at the now-defunct International. In fact, he made one in each of his first three years, including his first tournament as a pro at the Greater Milwaukee Open.
Woods said he's had 19 aces overall, the last coming about four years ago when he aced the par-3 second hole at Isleworth near Orlando. If you've ever seen or heard of that hole, you know that is a pretty impressive feat. And it was one that Woods couldn't wait to share with his friends.
"The trouble is, I had laryngitis,'' Woods recalled Wednesday during the Waste Management Phoenix Open pro-am. "I called all my friends, and nobody believed it was me calling them. I had no voice. It was the voice I had at the Hero World Challenge when I was sick. I couldn't talk.''
Most of his aces "have been at my home courses.'' And then he cut off the question. "No, I never won anything,'' he said, laughing.
Perhaps the most memorable to Woods? The first one. It came at a local Southern California course when he was just 8 years old playing with a bunch of teenagers.
"On this hole if I could hit a good one, I could clear the front bunker,'' he said. "At the time I was using a 2½ wood. Remember those? I hit it, it carried the bunker. The guys in my group were 17, and I was 8. They were tall and could see it.
"They saw it hit the pin and drop. 'You just made a hole-in-one!' I was like, 'What?' They picked me up, held me up, to show me that the ball was not there. So I ran to the green to check and see if it was my ball. And the ball was in the hole. And those guys said, 'Go back and get your clubs.'"
"I was so excited I ran up there and didn't take my clubs.''