Best Tournament you've ever seen (Top 3)

For me the final day of the 2012 Ryder Cup was pretty amazing and spectacular. Turning around like they did, especially Justin Rose against Mickelson with a couple of amazing putts (oh man, that long one on 17), Kaymer with the final putt and Woods missing an easy one to even make it 14,5 for Europe.

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I'm not allowing you the 2008 Masters: Trevor Immelman led wire-to-wire and won by three shots despite shooting 75 on Sunday. You're probably thinking of 2009, when Tiger and Phil charged through the field early and Cabrera won a three-way playoff.

As a spectator, the 2008 Ryder Cup was unbelievable and unparalleled.  It really deserves to be in its own category.

I also went to Rory's US Open win at Congressional, which was a snooze-fest...which to me was an indication of just how dominant he was that week.

Some of the most fun I've ever had has been volunteering as a standard bearer at the Wyndham Championship.  If you ever get the opportunity, do it.  You get to spend an entire round walking inside the ropes with the pros.  And if you do it on a Thursday and Friday, they are pretty relaxed.  I had a lot of conversations with Eric Compton and Nicholas Thompson, who are both really cool guys.  I also ended up hanging out for about an hour after the round with James Hahn's caddie.  Other notables that I've spent time with (but didn't really interact that much with) were Padraig Harrington, Rocco Mediate, Charlie Wi ( he shot something like a 65 that day, and if you've never seen a 65 in person, it's incredible), Tommy Gainey, and Woody Austin.

You are correct, yes.

2008 US Open - the savor of this one was increased because I had seen the course and the players in person on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of the practice rounds.  Not to mention the incredible drama of the fourth round, followed by the incredible ebb and flow of the playoff round and the final wearing down of and incredibly game Rocco on the 91st hole.

1986 Masters - to a Nicklaus fan, which I was and am, it is hard to imagine a more fitting coda to a legendary career.  I own the highlight VHS tape and have re-watched it dozens of times.  Maybe the most popular victory in all of golf history.

2001 Masters -  the completion of the most remarkable achievement in all of professional golfing history, a slam.  All four major titles at one time.  Never done before, may never be done again.  The 2 greatest players of their era, Tiger and Phil paired together in the final round a shot apart and both played well, Phil shooting a 2 under par 70, and Tiger holding up to the pressure (and Duvall's pressure) just fine with a final round 68.

As an honorable mention, this is my best in-person one:

2012 Toshiba Classic - well not the tournament itself, although as a Champions Tour event I got to see a lot of great players from my younger days - but my younger daughter was an intern at the even and got us free passes to the VIP skybox right behind 18.   Free food and drink, covered for the few hours when it rained, and for the only time in my life a woman hit on me - in her defense I think she was more than a little tipsy - my wife was sitting right next to me thank goodness - yeah, I'm a playa, LOL.

On TV - the 2009 U.S. Open that Lucas Glover won at Bethpage Black. That whole last day was high drama.

In person - The 1969 Alcan Golfer of the Year tournament in Portland, Oregon. Lee Trevino lost a four-shot lead with two holes to go, partly because of a triple bogey on the short par-3 17th, to let Billy Casper get the $50,000 first prize (a huge amount in those days).

1) 2013 Open Championship - Had everything...you had a great Open venue, you had as star-studded a leaderboard as you'll ever see in a major championship in your life, and you had Phil Mickelson, a fan favorite, coming from behind and winning. You can't beat that.

2)1999 US Open - Like the #1, a star-studded leaderboard and dramatic finish between Payne and Phil with Tiger and Vijay also right there at the end.

3) 2008 US Open - I think the drama of that was unmatched with Tiger sinking the putt on 18 and then the playoff the next day with Rocco. Great stuff.

Honorable mentions:

2014 PGA - That last round was awesome, and the darkness only added to the drama.

2006 US Open - The drama at the end with Mickelson, Ogilvy, Harrington, Montgomerie and Furyk was great. So many twists and turns at Winged Foot.

2013 Masters - Great finish between Cabrera and Scott.

Was only 5 years old for the 1986 Masters so don't remember it, but if I did, I'm sure it'd be in my top 3.