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Tiger Woods' Incredible Chip: You Can Do It Too (Yeah, Right)

If you haven't seen it by now, check out the chip shot that Tiger Woods rolled into the cup Sunday on the 16th hole at the Memorial Tournament. It put him on the way to winning the tournament.

According to golf legend Jack Nicklaus, it was "the gutsiest and best shot I've ever seen in my life."

As The Associated Press writes: "A little too soft a shot and he would be left with a treacherous, twisting putt for par. Catch it a little thin and the ball could easily run all the way through the green and into a pond."

Now, according to the PGA Tour, you duffers can hit a shot like that — or at least somewhat like that. The tour has posted a lesson on how to hit out of thick rough. Among the keys:

-- Put the ball "forward in your stance" and "open the clubface."

-- Keep "a quiet lower body" on the backswing.

-- "Fire through on your swing, maintain your spine angle, and fully rotate your hips."

Simple, right?

Well, even the tour concedes that if you put the ball in the hole, "that's Tiger-esque."

Woods' win, by the way, means he's tied Nicklaus for second place in tour wins, with 73. Sam Snead's 82 is the record.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.