⛳Great Matches

Golf's great contests have no final whistle. A tournament takes shape over four days and usually turns on the last nine holes — sometimes on a single swing — so the sport remembers moments more than scoreboards. Sarazen's 4-wood, Hogan's 1-iron, Nicklaus's putt on 17, the seconds Se Ri Pak spent barefoot in the water: these are what endure.

The ten episodes below are in chronological order, chosen only where the result actually changed golf's rules, its balance of power or a nation's golf population. They run from Prestwick in 1860, when eight professionals played 36 holes in a day, to Augusta in 2025, where prize money and broadcast reach belong to another era. Scores and margins follow official tournament records.