Paul Azinger celebrates his winning shot at the Memorial Tournament in 1993. (Photo by Columbus Dispatch)
Azinger stood in the waist-deep crater of sand guarding the 18th green, trailing best friend Payne Stewart by one stroke and tied with Corey Pavin, who was already in the clubhouse at 13 under par. Moments later he dropped to his knees and brought the gallery to its feet on Sunday of the 1993 Memorial.
The shot came out perfect and Zinger raised both arms as the ball rolled toward the hole. When it dropped into the side of the cup, he ripped off his visor and went to his knees like a kid playing in a sandbox.
When Stewart followed by missing an 8-foot par putt, Azinger had won the Memorial.
“I spent several hours in the bunker at the far left side of the range that week, working the short bunker shots mainly,” Azinger said last week. “I must have hit at least a few hundred shots the same distance as (the winner). It’s rarely a fluke when stuff like that happens.”
Roger Maltbie celebrates on the 18th green after winning the 1976 Memorial in a playoff over Hale Irwin.
