Golf Photos of Every Club in the Bag Paint the Picture of a Great Year: Analysis

A driver on the deck and a 3-wood on a tee. One shot was simply about making a difference. Another was winning a major tournament.

Every shot tells a story, and there were many in 2024. Not all of them belong to Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele, the two players who stood out above all others.

What follows are memorable snaps that defined a memorable year.

Driver

Byeong Hun An was two shots behind with four holes remaining at the Genesis Championship in South Korea. It was time to make something happen, whatever the risk. It was 290 yards to an elevated green with water on the left. He hit the driver off the deck and it was close to perfect, hitting the green and rolling to 8 feet. An had to settle for a birdie, but he beat Tom Kim in a playoff for his second European Tour title.

3-wood

Bryson DeChambeau hit just five fairways in the final round at No. 2 Pinehurst, the fewest by a U.S. Open champion in 17 years. His best tee shot came on the 13th hole. He had just made a bogey to fall two shots behind Rory McIlroy when DeChambeau holed a 3-wood onto the green to make birdie and stay close enough to overtake him at the end.

iron 2

Rafael Campos was tied for the lead heading into the final round of the Bermuda Championship, aiming for his first PGA Tour victory and playing into a raging wind. At the par-5 seventh, he ripped a 2-iron from 256 yards to 2 feet for eagle, which put him on the path to becoming the first Puerto Rican to win on tour since Chi Chi Rodriguez.

Hybrid

Bernhard Langer was trying to do the unthinkable – win for an 18th straight season on the PGA Tour Champions – while in a fairway bunker during a playoff against YE Yang at the Ascension Charity Classic. Langer, 67, hit a hybrid out of the sand to 15 feet, an incredible shot at any age. Yang won the playoffs, but Langer showed he had the goods. And he proved it by winning the last event of the year to extend a record among the most untouchable in golf.

iron 4

Xander Schauffele needed a birdie at the par-5 18th at Valhalla to win his first major at the PGA Championship. Just his luck, his drive sailed across the fairway and along the edge of a bunker. He was standing in the sand with the ball well above his feet and water on the right side. Schauffele hit the 4-iron so cleanly that it rolled almost to the green, leaving him with a 35-yard pitch to 6 feet and a birdie putt to win.

Honorable mention: Scottie Scheffler, coming off a double bogey, hitting a 4-iron to 5 feet for birdie on the par-3 ninth hole en route to winning the FedEx Cup.

iron 5

Chris Kirk was back on The Sentry at Kapalua for the first time in eight years, an absence that included his departure due to alcoholism. Kirk tied for the lead Sunday and had 209 yards over a gorge on the par-4 17th in a wind so deceptive he wasn’t sure if it was a 7-iron or an iron 5. He chose the 5 iron, stayed engaged and hit it to 2 feet. The birdie took him to a 65 and a one-stroke victory, securing his return next month.

iron 6

Nelly Korda has already tied an LPGA record with five consecutive victories, including the first major of the year. She was a top favorite at the US Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club. After three championship holes, it was over. She hit the 6-iron — most players hit one or two clubs shorter — into a back bunker. She ran across the green and into the creek. From the fairway, his next two shots went into the water. She finished with a 10, shot 80 and missed the cut.

iron 7

Francesco Molinari hasn’t been the same since winning the British Open and going 5-0 in the Ryder Cup. He needed a break and he got one on his final hole Friday at the U.S. Open at No. 2 Pinehurst. He hit the 7-iron just over the bunker and into the cup for a hole-in-one to make the cut on the number.

iron 8

Scottie Scheffler was on his way to a stunning rally on the final day of the Olympics when his drive on the 17th hole buried itself in deep rough. He dug an 8-iron onto the green to 18 feet and made the putt to take the lead. The rare display of emotion indicated the size of this bird. Scheffler shot 62 to win the gold medal.

iron 9

England’s Lottie Woad was behind with five shots remaining in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur when she launched a familiar charge at the Masters champions. That included birdies on his final two holes for a 69 and a one-stroke victory, the last a 9-iron to 15 feet for what turned out to be the winner.

Pitching wedge

Rory McIlroy had missed tournaments in the majors (US Open), at home (Irish Open) and in the flagship European event (Wentworth). He closed the year in the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, in a duel with Rasmus Hojgaard. They were tied when McIlroy raised a flag above the water on the 16th hole with a pitching wedge and filled it in for a birdie that took him to victory and the perfect way to end a long year.

Honorable mention: Xander Schauffele with pitching wedge to 2 feet on the 11th hole at Royal Troon when he won the British Open. He made the only birdie at No. 11 in the final round.

Sand corner

Bryson DeChambeau had a one-shot lead heading into the final hole of the US Open when he missed another fairway and put his next one into a bunker before, from 55 yards, one of the toughest shots to judge at golf. His sand wedge is among the most famous shots of an already storied career, 4 feet for a winning par at Pinehurst No. 2.

Lobed corner

Scottie Scheffler won the Masters by four strokes, but it wasn’t always so comfortable. He was tied with Collin Morikawa and Ludvig Aberg, one ahead of Max Homa, when his lob wedge at No. 9 flew over the hole, caught the ridge and was inches away from going into the cup. He led the rest of the way.

Putter

Grayson Murray felt he was starting to turn a corner in his personal life and on the golf course. No moment was bigger than the Sony Open, when he won a three-way playoff by making a 40-foot birdie on the 18th green. It remains a happy memory of Murray, who committed suicide in May.

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AP Golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf