Golf may never quite have a year again like the highs and lows of 2010. Marcus Chhan recaps five moments on ESPNSTAR.com The fall of Woods
It wasn't pretty to watch, although you simply couldn't take your eyes off it. Tiger Woods, arguably the greatest player to have ever played the game of golf, fell spectacularly from grace in 2010 in what was one of the biggest sporting stories of the year.
Forget about the women he slept with, and all the tabloid stories which followed, Woods not winning a single tournament in 2010, the first time this has happened to him in his professional career, is a huge story on its own.
The fact that he lost his number one ranking, something he has held for 281 weeks, as a result of this poor form potentially sets up golf fans nicely for an exciting 2011 as well.
The mark of a man can not only be measured by how hard he falls, but how he rises from a bad situation.
And it would take a brave man to bet against Woods next year, no matter how badly we've seen him play in 2010.
Mickelson proves - again - that nice guys don't always finish last
Phil Mickelson's 16 under par total was the lowest score at Augusta for nine years but seemed rather unimportant given the highly emotional setting on the 18th green.
There waiting for her husband stood Amy Mickelson, who 11 months prior had been diagnosed with breast cancer, and the pair shared a long embrace as 'Lefty' won his third green jacket in the last six years.
Major excitement
Following Phil Mickelson's win at Augusta, the rest of golf's majors went to three different players in exciting fashion.
Irishman Graeme McDowell gave us all an inkling of just how good his year would get when he ended Europe's 40 year wait at the US Open in June. McDowell came from three shots behind overnight third-round leader Dustin Johnson to win at Pebble Beach by one shot from France's Gregory Havret.
South African Louis Oosthuizen's (pictured) seven-stroke British Open triumph a month later at St. Andrews was nowhere nearly as dramatic as McDowell's US Open win, but it was remarkable given that victory came on the day Nelson Mandela celebrated his 92nd birthday.
Rounding up the majors in 2010 was Dustin Johnson's anguish at the PGA Championship. The final shootout for the title between Johnson, Martin Kaymer and Bubba Watson will be most remembered for the controversial seven he was forced to card on his final hole - instead of the five he holed.
Johnson was given a two-stroke penalty after he placed his 4-iron behind the ball, unaware that it was part of a bunker and thus eliminating hopes of him making the playoff with Kaymer and Watson.
Europe rains (reigns) at Ryder Cup
The rainy conditions in Wales forced the Ryder Cup finale to be pushed back to a Monday, but a thrilling final putt showdown between Europe's Graeme McDowell and America's Hunter Mahan to settle the destiny of the cup ensured all the right headlines were made.
Europe won by one point.
The 59 club
This year golf welcomed two new members to its exclusive 59 club in the space of just one month.
Paul Goydos shot an opening round 59 at the John Deere Classic in mid July before Stuart Appleby's final round 59 gave him a highly deserved one-stroke victory at the inaugural Greenbrier Classic in August.
Only five PGA Tour players have ever recorded that magical number of 59.
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