Tiger Woods’ iconic 2019 bunker shot left Mike Lorenzo-Vera stunned when he tried to recreate it.
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Tiger Woods has an entire catalog of memorable shots that even the best professional golfers have tried (and failed) to recreate.
There’s the 2005 Masters chip. The chip-in at the 2012 Memorial with water long. The “better than most” putt at TPC Sawgrass. The list goes on.
However, one memorable Woods shot left former DP World Tour player Mike Lorenzo-Vera stunned when he tried to pull it off.
The shot? Woods’ absurd fairway bunker shot during the 2019 WGC-Mexico Championship at Club de Golf Chapultapec.
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Lorenzo-Vera went on the Sliced Podcast with Ben Coley and Sam Harrop and explained how his attempt to recreate the 2019 bunker shot left him stunned at how Woods was able to pull it off.
“Those guys can do things that even really good pros cannot do,” Lorenzo-Vera said. “I can give you one example. Do you know the shot in Mexico that Tiger hit around the tree from the trap? The year after I went there and dropped six balls. I looked at the shot, and I couldn’t even get to within 40 meters [about 44 yards] of the green. The guy almost holed the shot with two clubs less bending the ball more to the right. Altitude, temperature, it’s impossible to turn the ball. The guy turns the ball with a nine iron from 140 meters 50 yards! And it’s pin high!
“Why don’t we have majors in France? Because nobody can do that!”
Woods wound up finishing in a tie for 10th that week in Mexico. But two months later, he roared again at Augusta National, winning his fifth green jacket and 15th major championship.
As for Lorenzo-Vera, last week he announced he will retire from professional golf after making one final appearance at the Omega European Masters in August.
The 40-year-old Frenchman has made only four starts on the DP World Tour since last July’s Barracuda Championship. He decided to step back from golf last August due to panic attacks and crippling anxiety. Lorenzo-Vera returned to the course in January at the Dubai Desert Classic, finishing in a tie for 31st.
But Lorenzo-Vera has decided that after 20 years as a professional golfer, it’s time to hang up the clubs.
His retirement announcement included heartfelt thank yous to his family, friends, fans and those whose footsteps he always wanted to follow, including the man whose iconic bunker shot he had no chance to recreate.
“And special thanks to four of my idols: Jose Maria Olazabal, Fred Couples, Davis Love III and, of course, the boss, Tiger Woods,” Lorenzo-Vera wrote.
