Shaun Micheel talks famous 7-iron, greatest shots in Oak Hill return

Shaun Micheel keeps the 7-iron he used for his legendary approach shot at Oak Hill two decades ago at his home. He’s fielded offers from others to showcase the club to the public, but he’s declined, opting instead to keep it in his upstairs golf room.

“If I was Tiger Woods and had 15 majors and I had all these extra clubs I could loan out, I would,” Micheel said, “but that’s not really going to go anywhere I don’t think.”

Micheel still considers that shot – a 175-yard approach that stopped just inches from the hole to set up a PGA-winning birdie on Oak Hill’s par-4 finishing hole – to be the most memorable shot of his career. After all, it netted him his first and only major title.

But his greatest shot in terms of skill? His albatross at the 2010 U.S. Open, where he holed a 3-iron from 239 yards at Pebble Beach’s par-5 sixth hole on Father’s Day.

“That was probably a better shot than the one I hit here 20 years ago,” Micheel said.

“Being there at the U.S. Open, my mom at that point was dying of cancer, and she passed away a few months after that,” Micheel continued. “To kind of get that ball out of the hole and give it to my wife, and I gave that to my mom before she passed away. So, anyway, that’s my 1B.”

Micheel, 54, knows he likely won’t replicate either of those shots this week.

“My chances of winning are less than they were in 2003,” Micheel admits. “That’s OK, but it’s fun to share this with my son.”

Dade Micheel was born just months after his dad’s 2003 PGA victory. He’s now 19 and in college.

“To me, the 7-iron, I think about it,” Micheel said. “I think about the four days here, I think about the four rounds that I played and the incredible golf that I played, but I think about this little guy right here. That’s what has special meaning to me this week.”