We all know that Tiger moves the needle in the world of golf, but there were plenty of other moments in 2021 that sent us all into a frenzy. I’m here to remind you of the stories you forgot about and the stories that the pros probably wish they could forget about. Without further ado, here’s the funny, the heartwarming, the good and the bad viral moments of 2021.
January
The year in golf started off on an interesting note. Was mercury in retrograde? Are golfers just strange sometimes? Tom Watson somehow came up with a new way to wear headphones, and thus the first Golf Meme of 2021 was born.
February
The golf world stood still on February 23 when Woods was involved in a serious car crash in Los Angeles. There was an outpouring of love and support from across the globe, and many pros chose to wear Sunday red in honor of Woods the following Sunday.
Most people have a tough time pulling off the red-and-black look. Tommy Fleetwood is not most people. This man looks glorious pic.twitter.com/z0phrtvHFa
— Dylan Dethier (@dylan_dethier) February 28, 2021
Seemed fitting for tomorrow after the kind of week we’ve had… Black and red on Sunday for TW! pic.twitter.com/TOUcWnUf1p
— Justin Thomas (@JustinThomas34) February 28, 2021
Sunday red ❤️@ANNIKA59 | @PGATOUR | @GainbridgeLPGA pic.twitter.com/o2FHDPPUGf
— LPGA (@LPGA) February 28, 2021
It’s a @TigerWoods Sunday for the maintenance staff at the @PuertoRicoOpen. @PGATOUR pic.twitter.com/OheyF4o1N8
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) February 28, 2021
🚨#NEW: Jason Day, Justin Thomas, Min Woo Lee and Sebastian Munoz arrive on Sunday red 🔴⚫️ pic.twitter.com/ZPa3dMtlLT
— TWLEGION (@TWlegion) February 28, 2021
A last-minute shopping trip to buy a red shirt with a logo he never thought he'd wear. All worth it in support of Tiger. pic.twitter.com/KAqDYD0ArW
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) March 1, 2021
It is hard to explain how touching today was when I turned on the tv and saw all the red shirts. To every golfer and every fan, you are truly helping me get through this tough time.
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) March 1, 2021
March
Love him or hate him, Bryson DeChambeau’s drives are fun to watch. At Bay Hill, DeChambeau took an outrageous line on the 565-yard, dogleg par-5 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational not once, but twice. It’s safe to say the fans were excited over his two 370-plus-yard drives.
370 yards. 💪😲
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 6, 2021
The longest drive on the 6th hole since 2003.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/zkL2jlU8S3
Drive: 377 yards.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 7, 2021
Distance to the pin: 88 yards.@B_DeChambeau does it again at No. 6.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/HYSyDvQCMm
On to the Players Championship. Call it the fifth major or whatever you want, the event is one of the most exciting of the year. That combined with the Twitter star that is Ben An, and you’ve got yourself this funny viral moment.
@ByeongHunAn https://t.co/BqQcee3cwo
— Byeong Hun An (@ByeongHunAn) March 11, 2021
Thank you https://t.co/0EWKvRFU8T
— Byeong Hun An (@ByeongHunAn) March 12, 2021
Ok, ok. Perhaps it wasn’t funny for An in the moment. Carding an 11 anywhere is no laughing matter … until a few hours later. An handled it perfectly.
April
We’ve always had the Masters to look forward to in April, but now we have the Augusta National Women’s Amateur as well. Before we get into that, we must address the two former World No. 1’s who re-entered the winner’s circle.
After 1,351 days, he's back in the winner’s circle. 🏆
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) April 4, 2021
Jordan Spieth earns his 12th PGA Tour victory and first win since the 2017 Open Championship at the Valero Texas Open. pic.twitter.com/WBGEcDeZAv
After 1,084 days, she’s back in the winner’s circle. 🏆
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) April 18, 2021
Lydia Ko earns her 16th LPGA Tour victory and first win since 2018 at the Lotte Championship at 28-under par. pic.twitter.com/0oqvxeNtxR
On to Masters week. After breaking the color barrier at the Masters in 1975, Lee Elder made history at Augusta once again in 2021 when he joined Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player as an honorary starter.
Will Zalatoris turned heads all week at the Masters, not just because he was contending. People noticed that he resembles one of the caddies from Happy Gilmore, and even Adam Sandler got involved in the bit.
If you’re ever in need of a caddie again let me know. I’ll be better this time. I’m always available for you, Mr. Gilmore. https://t.co/R1e8awZIvh
— Will Zalatoris (@WillZalatoris) April 12, 2021
There were a handful of humorous moments at the 2021 Masters, but this moment from Hideki's caddie was as wholesome as they get.
Hideki Matsuyama's caddie, Shota Hayafuji, removing his hat and bowing his head after returning the pin.
— Sean Zak (@Sean_Zak) April 11, 2021
Quite an image. pic.twitter.com/chUVA9XRTF
Masters week ended with two Japanese winners: Hideki Matsuyama and Tsubasa Kajitani.
The morning after his Masters victory, Mastuyama was photographed looking like any old guy at the airport ... with the addition of a green jacket, of course.
The Masters may have ended on the 11th, but there were still a handful of big golf moments later in the month. For instance, the birth of the famous LPGA hoodie.
The Player Impact Program news broke in April, as well. Golf Twitter hasn't been the same since.
PGA Tour's new incentive plan is schoolyard math, and it makes perfect sense -- cool kids keep their lunch money. https://t.co/Zts9apfnFq via @golfweek
— Eamon Lynch (@eamonlynch) April 21, 2021
And finally, Tiger posted his first photo since his accident on April 23.
May
The PGA Championship provided a plethora of viral moments, starting with Phil and the drone. Hey, when you’re on your way to becoming the oldest major champion of all-time, you can request whatever you want.
"Can you please move that drone from my flight?
— Sean Zak (@Sean_Zak) May 22, 2021
"Not only is it annoying, but it's gonna hit it."
SICK pic.twitter.com/XYT13yjH31
It wouldn't be a proper golf tournament without some sort of Brooks and Bryson interaction, which is exactly what we got at Kiawah. That came in the form of a leaked video. It’s been taken down from most platforms, but I was able to find one living copy of it here.
I could've dedicated this entire article to viral Brooks and Bryson moments from 2021, but you can learn all about that here. And for our last PGA Championship viral moment, Phil took to Twitter to celebrate his win.
June
June got off to an unfortunate start when Jon Rahm tested positive for COVID-19 with a six-shot lead at the Memorial.
Jon Rahm was forced to withdraw from the Memorial seconds after completing his third round due to a positive Covid-19 test. https://t.co/7sQN6CLWbT
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) June 5, 2021
Then things took an interesting turn when the Premier Golf League published this open letter to the world of golf. I'm still not entirely sure what to make of it.
An open letter to the world of golf from the PGL team
— Premier Golf League (@premgolfleague) June 8, 2021
Find out more 👉 https://t.co/rXO4jz389C pic.twitter.com/NuJYKf4ZrJ
On to the U.S. Open. First, Viktor Hovland withdrew due to sand in his eye and then wrote a hilarious Instagram caption to explain the situation.
And then outgoing USGA executive Mike Davis caddied for marker Jason Gore in Round 3.
We can't forget the two insanely clutch putts that earned Rahm his first major title.
Last but not least, Phil Mickelson spent some time with Kelley Cahill Rahm and Kepa Rahm while Jon hit balls in case of a potential playoff.
Phil bringing over a chair for Kelly and the baby to sit and watch Rahm hit balls is the sweetest 🥺 @PhilMickelson @usopengolf pic.twitter.com/aE4x09AVl3
— Kira K. Dixon (@KiraDixon) June 21, 2021
“I didn’t sign up for a Phireside chat” pic.twitter.com/bVtqvQRdBt
— claire rogers (@kclairerogers) June 21, 2021
Nelly Korda capped off the month of June by winning her first major at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship and becoming the World No. 1.
MAJOR CHAMPION.
— LPGA (@LPGA) June 27, 2021
Nelly Korda makes history in Atlanta at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship 🏆 pic.twitter.com/AWncpUzsGG
July
Ah, Open Championship month and the start of the Olympics. July delivered a handful of viral moments. Let's start with Paul Larsen, head greenskeeper at Royal St. George's.
This is Royal St. George's head greenskeeper 🙌 pic.twitter.com/kIMiuH6EMV
— LKD (@LukeKerrDineen) July 14, 2021
Check out that hair. Next up, we have some golf action in Tokyo.
Went into the Olympic village for a nice workout last night. Safe to say there weren’t many athletes fighting me for the 20 lb dumbbells 😂
— Justin Thomas (@JustinThomas34) July 26, 2021
Relatable. And although Patrick Reed got a late start, he arrived to the games in style.
August
It's safe to say it was REALLY hot at the women’s Olympic golf tournament. So hot, in fact, that some players wore cooling vests to combat the extreme temperatures.
Some golf moments seem like they happened just yesterday. Rory throwing his 3-wood at Liberty National is one of those moments.
Why did Rory McIlroy spend so much time hitting 3-woods on the range yesterday?
— Dylan Dethier (@dylan_dethier) August 25, 2021
"I threw my 3-wood onto the New Jersey Turnpike off the 9th hole on Monday, so I was without a 3-wood coming here," he said.
"If someone wants to go get a 3-wood, there's one in there somewhere."
September
The month of team golf. Let's kick things off with a look back at the Solheim Cup. It's safe to say it was a fun time, and the European Team went back-to-back.
Macarena dance time with @carlotagolf on the first tee 💃 pic.twitter.com/Wep5o22j0j
— The Solheim Cup (@TheSolheimCup) September 6, 2021
.@SolheimCupEuro wins back-to-back Solheim Cup! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/264saO1vEl
— The Solheim Cup (@TheSolheimCup) September 6, 2021
Up next: iron covers. I know most of the golf world shuns them, but we found one exception in September. Pro Aaron Rai uses them, and for good reason.
And now over to the Ryder Cup. There were a lot of viral moments that occurred at Whistling Straits, so for time's sake, I'll present each without comment.
No. 23 at the 43rd Ryder Cup. 💯 pic.twitter.com/EHnPrfBEa4
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) September 24, 2021
Teammates hug. pic.twitter.com/KfIUrJRzEg
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) September 26, 2021
Bryson got a lot of attention in September, as he competed in the World Long Drive after the Ryder Cup.
403 yards.
— James Colgan (@jamescolgan26) September 28, 2021
Bryson WINS heat 3. He’s going nuts on the tee box pic.twitter.com/AL6aevkDQP
October
On October 16, K.H. Lee, a golfer who I previously knew very little about, became my hero.
Next up is Brian Morris, the head pro at Ocean View Golf Course in Bermuda, who is battling inoperable brain cancer and teed it up in the Bermuda Championship.
For nearly two years, Brian Morris has undergone chemotherapy every three weeks.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 25, 2021
He has terminal cancer.@Bermuda_Champ granted the 53-year-old Bermudian pro a sponsor's exemption.
He'll live out his lifelong dream this week. pic.twitter.com/VyDUxWTMkb
"My outlet is golf and I think that I'm better for it."
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 28, 2021
Brian Morris' dream of playing on the PGA TOUR becomes a reality today @Bermuda_Champ.
The local pro has been battling stage IV cancer for nearly two years. pic.twitter.com/nPHphxhtrP
And finally, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen dressed up as Phil Mickelson for Halloween.
November
First up is Rory's ripped shirt at the European Tour finale.
Frustrations boiled over for Rory after a final-round 74.
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) November 21, 2021
(Via @tourmiss) pic.twitter.com/adHruD8T7u
And just when we thought that would be the biggest golf moment of the day, Tiger posted this.
Making progress pic.twitter.com/sVQkxEHJmq
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) November 21, 2021
A week and a half later, Tiger had his first press conference in nine months in November at the Hero World Challenge.
December
The Hero World Challenge was still underway when the calendar turned to December, and all of Golf Twitter lost their minds when Tiger was seen hitting balls in Sunday red.
Missed that Sunday Red.pic.twitter.com/DD0AOIJ6y1
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) December 5, 2021
Three days later, Tiger committed to the PNC Championship, and the golf world once again exploded.
Although it’s been a long and challenging year, I am very excited to close it out by competing in the @PNCchampionship with my son Charlie. I’m playing as a Dad and couldn’t be more excited and proud.
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) December 8, 2021
And as an early Christmas gift, the PNC provided a number of viral moments for all the golf lovers out there.
Charlie's having some fun with JT today.pic.twitter.com/YmgnS1UkrB
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) December 18, 2021
Nelly Korda won a major and an Olympic gold this year. She might be the best female golfer in the world! So watching her geek out over meeting Tiger Woods was the best thing I saw today pic.twitter.com/c2HPOMhs3C
— Dylan Dethier (@dylan_dethier) December 19, 2021
"Unbelievable!"
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) December 19, 2021
CHARLIE WOODS from 169 yards. pic.twitter.com/Fgv2iS2s6p
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) December 19, 2021
And finally, I'll leave you with this PGA Tour-DP World Tour collab that is so, so good. Happy New Year, everyone. Here's to more golf virality in 2022.
It’s year-end review time… pic.twitter.com/6GhXaI6127
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) December 27, 2021
