It’s the most dreaded word in sports. It starts with a Ch and rhymes with poke. No professional athlete or team wants to be labeled as choke artists. It nonetheless happens way too often. Phil Mickelson experienced it just last Sunday at Winged Foot in the U.S. Open.  This massive meltdown, though, begs the question: Is his 18^th hole debacle tragic enough to get him into the top 10 choke jobs of the last 20 years?

10. Kentucky v. Louisiana State, 9 November 2002, College Football

The game was over, the Gatorade had been dumped onto Kentucky head coach Guy Morriss, and the Kentucky faithful were ready to storm the field. LSU had two seconds to go 75 yards, trailing 30-27. LSU coach Nick Saban told his quarterback Marcus Russell simply to throw the ball as far as he possibly could. The ball was deflected at the Kentucky 20 yard line, vaulted over two defenders and into the arms of LSU receiver Devery Henderson, who waltzed – unbelievably – into the end zone.

9. Portland Trail Blazers v. Los Angeles Lakers, Game 7, 2000 Western Conference Finals

A 15 point lead in the fourth quarter should be safe enough. However, Kobe and Shaq were on the same page in this game and Portland suffered one of the worst collapses in sports history. The Lakers would go on to win their first of three NBA Championships by beating the Indiana Pacers in the Finals.

8. Chicago Cubs v. Florida Marlins, Game 6, 2003 National League Championship Series

Steve Bartman. Enough Said.

7. ‘The Timeout’, Michigan v. North Carolina, 1993 Men’s Basketball National Championship

Down two points late in the fourth quarter, All-American Chris Webber grabbed a missed free throw and promptly traveled with it. But it wasn’t called and Webber dribbled down the court to possibly tie up the game. A few seconds later he probably wished he was called for steps, as he was trapped and called timeout. Unfortunately, Michigan had no timeouts remaining and Webber and his Wolverine teammates were issued a technical foul. Two free throws later, North Carolina celebrated its national championship.

6. Atlanta Braves v. Houston Astros, Game 4, 2005 National League Division Series

Atlanta squandered yet another playoff opportunity as they led 6-1 in the eighth inning of Game 4 of the best of five series. Down two games to one the Braves were ready to go back to Atlanta for the deciding Game 5 finale way too early. The Astros scored 5 runs in the eighth and ninth innings and tied the game at 6. After the 18 inning marathon, the Astros prevailed, leaving Braves fans heartbroken once again.

5. Bill Buckner, Boston Red Sox v. New York Mets, Game 6, 1986 World Series

Buckner’s error on the dribbler to first by the Mets Mookie Wilson allowed the tying run to come in from third base and force a Game 7 which the Mets went on to win. If the Red Sox win the decisive game 7 all would be forgotten. Many still argue that Wilson would have beaten the ground ball out anyway due to his speed since Buckner was not very mobile.  That argument, of course, is of no solace to Red Sox Nation.

4. Greg Norman, 1996 Masters

Norman finally seemed to have the elusive Green Jacket in his grasp as he took a six stroke lead into Sunday’s final round.  But with the Master’s his to lose, he did exactly that, shooting a 78 as the ever-clutch Nick Faldo shot a 67 to take the tournament by five strokes.

3. New York Yankees v. Boston Red Sox, 2004 ALCS

Up three games to none, the Yankees were once again dominating their long time rivals, bludgeoning them mercilessly at the behest, presumably, of The Curse of the Bambino. New York won by 11 runs in dominating Game 3. Mariano Rivera came in to end Game 4 as he did so many other times; a clutch walk by Kevin Millar, stolen base by pinch runner Dave Roberts, and back-up-the-box single by Bill Mueller, though, tied the game with two outs in the bottom the ninth..  In extra innings, a dramatic David Ortiz home run won the game and allowed the Sox to seize the series momentum. It was the first time in MLB history that a team lost a best of seven series after leading 3-0.

2. Houston Oilers v. Buffalo Bills, 1993 AFC Wild Card Game

A 35-3 lead at halftime led to many Bills fans leaving at halftime. They missed the greatest comeback in NFL playoff history. Frank Reich replaced the injured Jim Kelly and led the team to five second half touchdowns and a 38-38 regulation tie. Steve Christie then kicked a game winning field goal in overtime to complete the most improbable of comebacks.  A few years later the Oilers moved to Tennessee, became the Titans, and promptly came one yard away from winning Super Bowl XXXIV.

1. Jan Van de Velde, 72^nd Hole Triple Bogey, 1999 British Open

The unheralded Frenchmen walked to the final hole at Carnoustie in 1999 with his name already engraved on the coveted Claret Jug, the trophy awarded to the winner of the British Open. Needing a double bogey or less to win the trophy, Van de Velde could have simply hit three pitching wedges and three putted to win the tournament. A drive drifted well right and then instead of laying out onto the fairway to still have four shots to work with his ball went into the Grandstand, caromed fifty yards backward into two foot tall rough. He decided to go for the green on this shot – it again hit grandstands and traveled into a creek labeled Barry’s Burn. After removing his shoes and socks and contemplating hitting the ball he decided to take a drop and add a penalty stroke. He hit this shot into a greenside bunker, before managing to get up and down for a triple bogey seven. He then lost in a three-way playoff to Justin Leonard and Paul Lawrie, the eventual winner.

Honorable Mention

Sacramento Kings, 2002 Western Conference Finals; Greg Norman, 1986 Masters; Phil Mickelson, 2006 U.S. Open; Jackie Smith, dropped touchdown, 1979 Super Bowl, Earnest Byner’s fumble,1987 AFC Championship.