Remembering The Unforgettable 2000 PGA Championship

Even now, 20 years down the road, the thrill lingers. A sticky, late-summer Sunday at Valhalla Golf Club on the outskirts of Louisville, Ky. Tiger Woods, having won the two previous major championships, is chasing a third in a row at the PGA Championship. Bob May, a SoCal kid Woods sought to emulate years earlier, has arrived like an uninvited guest at one of history’s intersections.

It was as unlikely as it was unforgettable.

Two decades later, most of us know the story the way we recognize parts of The Godfather.

Tiger Woods points and follows his ball to the cup on the first playoff hole at Valhalla in the 2000 PGA Championship. Photo: David Cannon, Allsport

May holing a 15-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole, watching as it slowly weaved back and forth before tumbling in, forcing Woods to hole a 4-footer to go into a three-hole playoff. Woods, on the first extra hole, pointing his birdie putt in the hole, practically sprinting behind his ball like a wave chasing a swimmer to the shore.

And, finally, the sense when it ...