A gallery of my favorite golf images (well, at least the ones I’ve taken) from the past ten years. A brief commentary on each appears beneath the slide show.

About the photos…

2008 ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

Tiger Woods and caddie Steve WIlliams are silhouetted against the sunrise outside of Tucson, Arizona as they prepare for the final round of the 2008 Accenture World Match Play Championship at the Gallery Course at Dove Mountain.


TIGER WOODS WINS THE 2005 MASTERS
As the lone freelancer hired to cover the Masters (along with three staff photographers) for Golf Digest and Golf World magazines, I was “stuck” with the reverse-angle position on the 18th green at Augusta National GC. With the traditional Sunday pin placement, this normally means getting the image of the winner’s back as he sinks the final putt. On this occasion, however, Tiger decided that a 180-degree spin, complete with a fist pump, was in order. Which was fine by me.


2006 PGA CHAMPIONSHIP, FINAL ROUND
Covering the 2006 PGA Championship on assignment for Sports Illustrated, I had the opportunity to shoot the final round from the air–more specifically, from the MetLife Blimp Snoopy One. Here, Tiger Woods and Steve WIlliams walk between the shadows in the 14th fairway en route to Woods’ victory.


TIGER WOODS, 2003 WESTERN OPEN
Say what you want about the guy, given the past month’s turn of events–but he’s still arguably the greatest golfer to have ever walked the planet. He’s so good that he can tell whether his shot is good, bad, or horrendous in the time it takes his club to get from the point of impact to his follow through. And when it’s horrendous, the pictures can be pretty interesting…


2005 BRITISH OPEN AT ST. ANDREWS
A remotely-triggered camera set up on a balcony of a building overlooking the 18th hole of the Old Course at St. Andrews captures the overall scene as Tiger Woods raises his arms in celebration upon winning the 2005 Open Championship.


PHIL MICKELSON BLOWS THE U.S. OPEN
“I am such an idiot,” he said, and truer words were never spoken than on that Sunday afternoon in June after Phil Mickelson double-bogeyed the 18th hole at Winged Foot to lose the 2006 U.S. Open. Photographed on assignment for Golf World magazine, I was actually positioned behind Mickelson when he crouched down and ever so briefly held his head in his hands after realizing the enormity of what he’d just done; fortunately I had a remote camera clamped to the grandstand which was able to capture a wide view of the scene.


PHIL MICKELSON’S FANS, 2009 U.S. OPEN
Phil Mickelson loves New York, and the feeling is mutual. After three soggy, rain-delayed days the the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage State Park, the fourth round began at about 7 p.m. on Sunday night–and Phil’s loyal fans stuck around to watch. On the second tee, they express their approval (and amazement) at a tee shot.


MICHELLE WIE, 2007 LPGA CHAMPIONSHIP
Most of the decade was a rough one for teen phenom Michelle Wie, as illustrated by her frustration following a (very) wayward tee shot on the tenth hole during the third round of the 2007 McDonald’s LPGA Championship at Bulle Rock GC in Havre de Grace, Maryland.


MICHELLE WIE, 2006 KRAFT-NABISCO CHAMPIONSHIP
On what used to be one of of my tee boxes for shooting, now altered beyond recognition, Michelle Wie reaches the top of her backswing before hitting a drive on the 15th hole at the Kraft Nabisco Championship at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California.


MICHELLE WIE, 2005 SAMSUNG WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Michelle Wie’s professional coming-out party, via a sponsor’s exemption into the 2005 Samsung World Championship at Bighorn GC in Palm Desert, California was marred by a disqualification for taking an illegal drop and consequently signing an incorrect scorecard. Prior to that, she exuded the confidence (some might say brashness) of youth walking off of the sixth green during the third round.


LORENA OCHOA, 2008 MASTERCARD INVITATIONAL
Construction continued around the periphery of Bosque Real Country Club outside of Mexico City during the 2008 Mastercard Invitational; on Friday afternoon during the second round, two stone masons took a break to watch national icon Lorena Ochoa hit her tee shot on the second hole.


LORENA OCHOA, 2008 KRAFT-NABISCO CHAMPIONSHIP
2008 was a breakthrough year from Mexico’s Lorena Ochoa as she secured her position as the top-ranked female golfer in the world. Here, she is surrounded by family and friends during the traditional champion’s leap into the pond fronting the 18th green at Mission Hills CC in Rancho Mirage, California following her victory at the Kraft-Nabisco Championship.


PRE-DAWN ON THE RANGE, 2007 FBR OPEN
I always loved covering the Phoenix Open back before Arizona observed daylight savings time, because the late sunrise made for some spectacular pre-dawn images that you couldn’t get anywhere else. Players with early tee times were forced to practice under artificial light on the driving range; here, Camilo Villegas and Jesper Parnevik hit balls on the range at TPC Scottsdale prior to their rounds.


CAMILO VILLEGAS, 2008 BRITISH OPEN
As what’s left of the late afternoon sun barely peeks over the grandstands, Camilo Villegas takes a full swing, and a full load of sand, as he blasts out of a bunker on the 18th hole at Royal Birkdale during the third round of the 2008 Open Championship.


2009 U.S. KIDS GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP
Golf World magazine sent me to Pinehurst to cover a golf tournament like I’ve never seen–the U.S. Kids Golf Championship. Hundreds of kids, ages 5-12 with their parents, learning the game and sportsmanship in a historic setting made for a great time and some nice images. Here, kids warm up on the driving range before the start of the second day of competition.