View photos of Tiger's US Open winKEY POINTS:
Tiger Woods' US Open victory, where he overcame a layoff and significant injuries, has sparked the question: What are the best comebacks in sport?
If Woods' 14th major title success against enormous odds wasn't enough this week, the Boston Celtics performed an amazing reversal against the Lakers in
Los Angeles which steered them towards the NBA basketball title.
Both are strong contenders for an all-time list of the top 10 comebacks.
Before setting about forming a list, you need criteria.
Do you stick to late charges or compare them to those achieved over time?
It's natural to lean towards sports prevalent in your own country, but that must be weighed against overseas events great and small. And does the big occasion always beat back field heroics?
I quickly decided to go on memory and instinct rather than endless delving to prevent this quick look at sporting hill climbs turning into a mountain range of research. A strong New Zealand flavour was the natural result.
Time for pre-emptive apologies then, including to all those devout Charlton Athletic football fans whose team won a second division football match against Huddersfield 50 years ago by 7-6, having been down 5-1 with only half an hour to go. The X-factor here is that Charlton were down to 10 men.
About six or seven of the top 10 leapt on to the page. Others took a bit of mulling over.
Giving France's 1999 World Cup rugby win over the All Blacks the nod as the number one comeback is a parochial choice of sorts which reflects this country's sporting leanings, although not its preferences, in terms of result.
It was a truly remarkable game, so unexpected, with a staggering French frenzy. I'd also argue that it is impossibly difficult for a team to get on a roll like that against strong opposition in rugby because possession is so easily disputed.
Recent events tend to hit the memory cells easier than those from long ago, which also had an influence.
It's debatable if injury stories should qualify because they are frequent and hard to compare, but Tiger easily makes the grade.
The legend of his Torrey Pines win will only grow with time. It has provided a missing chapter in his remarkable story, that of a noble tournament triumph over adversity.
1) France's 1999 semifinal World Cup victory over the All Blacks, Twickenham
Time has healed this wound. Rather than seeing it as a tragic New Zealand choke, a glorious patch of French rugby is now celebrated. France didn't merely overcome a 14-point lead which the vaunted All Blacks had established early in the second half, they smashed it with a rugby magic that is unique to their game, with a scoring blitz for a 43-31 victory. Total French rugby came together as never before on this late October day. The Springboks' three-try burst in less than 15 minutes to overcome a 16-point deficit against the All Blacks in Durban in 1998 also rates highly. But France played the finest stanza of test rugby ever on that legendary World Cup occasion.
2) England's 3rd test victory in the 1981 Ashes cricket series, Headingley
This has a unique aura because of its cast of larger-than-life characters and a bizarre sub-plot. Cricket legends don't come bigger than Ian Botham, Dennis Lillee and Rod Marsh, and it is easy to forget that Bob Willis almost single-handedly bowled a previously dishevelled England to victory. Bookies offered 500-1 on an England victory when they were 221 runs behind with nine second innings wickets left against the powerful Australians. Lillee and Marsh took it on, wagering 15 on their opponents. England crashed to 135 for seven the next day, but Botham smashed a sensational and unbeaten 149 to set up a 124 target. Willis then grabbed eight wickets. Lillee and Marsh shared 7500 in their team's 18-run defeat _ it was regarded as unacceptably roguish behaviour back then rather than crooked.
3) Tiger Woods' US Open victory in 2008, Torrey Pines
Woods' victory over the field and over injury was surreal, like life imitating the art of a classic against-the-odds movie. No other golfer would have bothered, especially as it emerged he defied his doctor's advice by playing on a double stress fracture of the left tibia, and that the knee needed reconstruction surgery. He overcame a competitive layoff and played in discomfort and pain to triumph at the toughest of all golf tournaments via a gruelling playoff. This result will define probably the greatest of all golf careers. Woods kept on keeping on, including over 19 holes of extra time against Rocco Mediate. It's a comeback story for the ages.
4) Dennis Taylor's world snooker title in 1985, Sheffield
Taylor overcame a 8-0 deficit against Steve Davis to win the title on the final black of the 35th frame. Snooker was huge in the 80s, and more than 18 million tuned in. Englishman Davis was the king, virtually invincible, and was coasting to victory. The pasty Davis looked paler than normal as his victory march kept getting tripped up. Taylor still needed the last four balls for victory though. There were all sorts of dramas on the final black, before Taylor prevailed after midnight. It was Davis's supremacy in this era which made the Taylor comeback so remarkable. Newspapers ran diagrams of the final moments _ it was massive news.
5) Nick Faldo winning the Masters in 1996, Augusta
Traditionally this is seen as Greg Norman's finest choke, but that is unfair on Faldo. After conceding six shots to the world's number one golfer by the final round, Faldo shot 67 to beat him by five, leaving both in tears. Watching Norman collapse was fascinating and excruciating, a thrill akin to hanging your toes over a cliff. Grown men _ especially Norman's friends _ could hardly watch as he unravelled, starting with a bungled opening drive. But this was also a great Faldo revival. He shot the Sunday low score to wind up the pressure, before giving Norman a hug and consoling words on the 18th.
6) Manchester Utd's 1999 European Cup victory over Bayern, in Barcelona
Bayern Munich weren't the greatest of finalists, but United were without the suspended Roy Keane and Paul Scholes. The Germans led 1-0 from the opening minutes and United looked down and out at the 90-minute mark. Yet Alex Ferguson's side won in stupendous fashion, with two goals in injury time. When replacement Teddy Sheringham equalised, extra time loomed. United's relief turned to ecstasy as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer crashed home the winner from a David Beckham corner, leaving many Bayern players in tears. It was fabulous sporting drama _ the comeback king for a club that specialises in such glories. For Liverpool fans, ignore the above and refer to the Miracle of Istanbul.
7) Michael Campbell's 2005 US Open victory, Pinehurst
Campbell had such a bad wrist injury in the late 1990s that he even wielded cutlery like a duffer. The erratic, gifted Wellington golfer had struggled in the United States and had missed the halfway cut at the previous four US Opens. Campbell also started 2005 by missing a series of cuts, and made the Open field after his manager persuaded him to play a qualifying tournament in England _ this was the first time the USGA operated European qualifiers. He overhauled South African Retief Goosen's four-shot lead and held off Tiger Woods. A Cinderella comeback, even if Campbell's game has reverted to pumpkin mode.
8) Boston Celtics' game four win in the 2008 NBA finals, Los Angeles
This week's Celtics basketball turnaround shone a light on an American Football game from the 1992-93 season. The Buffalo Bills _ using their back-up quarterback _ won that wild card playoff 41-38 in New York with an overtime field goal, having trailed the Houston Oilers by 32 points early in the third quarter. No wonder a Houston radio man announced that the stadium could turn the lights out on its team when the Oilers led 35-3. It is tough comparing that with this week's basketball comeback. But the Celtics were away from home against a team including the great Kobe Bryant.
9) Lasse Viren rises from the deck to claim Olympic gold in 1972, Munich
It didn't take much research to be alerted to this classic _ Olympic legend Viren's 10,000m triumph at Munich seems to be top of the comeback pops. He fell during the race after a tangle and was mildly disoriented, believing briefly that he ran the wrong way after rising. The Finnish runner, making his Olympic debut, had plenty of laps to go. He made up a good 100m to join the pack, and kicked home in world record time for the first of his four Olympic golds.
10) Graham Henry
Parochial, for sure. But no, not a cheeky entry. His comeback to retain the All Black coaching job was history-making in Kiwi sport. Henry was a goner for all money after France tipped the All Blacks over in Cardiff at the 2007 World Cup. The NZRU chairman Jock Hobbs suggested a new coach would be in place by Christmas. If Henry should hang on to win the 2011 World Cup, it will really complete the comeback deal.
