The 2003 PGA US Championship was held between August 14th and 17th at the East Course of Oak Hill Country Club in New York.
Before the competition began, you could get odds of 250/1 for Shaun Micheel to win the PGA US Championship. He was, after all, ranked 169th in the world at that time, and he was up against a number of much better players.
This would be his 164th PGA Tour start too, with not a single title to his name, meaning that Micheel was most certainly an underdog.
It is not known how many people took those 250/1 odds, but it was certainly the crowning moment in Micheels career.
He did win a few more lesser tours, but never matched this impressive feat, and after achieving a career high ranking of 34th in 2004, fell away again.
How Micheel Won the Championship
In the opening stages, Micheel demonstrated unexpected consistency and precision, carding an impressive 69 and 68 in the first and second rounds, respectively. His steady play positioned him in first place headed into the weekend, at -3 par with his nearest competition at -1, and some of the bigger names further down the table.
As the competition intensified during the third round, Micheel maintained his composure but didn’t do as well as he hoped. He still carded a respectable 69 in round 3 though, although others had done better, and Chad Campbell was now tied with him in 1st place at -4. The good news, was that Mike Weir in 3rd was only at -1, so it was looking like a 2 horse race.
It was during the decisive moments of the final round where Micheel reserved his spot in PGA lore.
With a nerveless display he struck a ball on the 18th that almost got him a hole in one, rolling devastatingly close to the hole before coming to a stop with a few inches to go. Still, it was a brilliant result, and a birdie which was enough for him to card 70 and win the tournament at 4-under par.
His closest rival, Chad Campbell (who finished at -2), has since said it was the best shot he has ever seen under that sort of pressure.
Funnily enough, this was the same year that another huge underdog, Ben Curtis, went on to win The Open at even longer odds. There must have been something in the water in 2003.