Bill Nichols

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Adam Scott's 48-foot putt to win last year's Byron Nelson may go down as the best in tournament history. The greatest putt at storied Colonial might be the "Purtzer Putt," which could also contend for best bunker shot.

En route to his 1991 victory, Tom Purtzer played the Texas wedge from the back bunker on No. 13. The man with the perfect swing played the perfect shot, rolling the ball across the firm sand, up and over the lip and then 35 feet down to the hole. And his hair was perfect.

"It's just one of those deals where I said I don't want to try to play hero here," Purtzer said. "When something like that happens, it's your day."

That something won't be happening again any time soon. The bunker on 13 was filled during recent renovation, making way for a grandstand behind the green.

An over-the-top shot: Byron Nelson once did the exact opposite of Purtzer. In a playoff against Sam Snead, Nelson faced a stymie, which means Snead's ball blocked Nelson's path to the hole. Nelson pulled out his wedge and lofted his ball over Snead's and into the cup. Talk about in your face. Ropes proposes bringing back the stymie. That would certainly add excitement and build rivalries.

That explains it: The stymie was forever wiped off the books in 1951, the same year the center-shafted putter was legalized. Coincidence? We think not.

One really bad hole: Playing for the final time as an amateur at the Masters, Danny Lee was minding his business, hurting no one, seemingly on his way to making the cut when the golf gods struck like a bolt of lightning. He eagled No. 8, birdied 9 and then suffered a six-putt from 12 feet on 10 for a quintuple-bogey 9. Lee, who made his pro debut at the Zurich Classic, is playing the Nelson and Colonial on a sponsor's exemptions.

An expert at putting: Perhaps Lee should book a session with putting guru Stan Utley. Utley knows what it's like to six-putt. He took a record six putts over nine holes at the 2002 Air Canada Championship. Utley is living proof that you putt for dough. He charges $1,500 for a three-hour lesson.

No harm, no foul: Westlake's Todd Hamilton adheres to a putting superstition. Before placing his ball to putt, he taps his coin marker. Not everybody understands the ritual. A British Open fan reported to officials that Hamilton was smoothing over rough spots in front of his ball. The next day, Hamilton explained his tapping superstition to a rules official, who responded, "We don't like people to do that, but there's no penalty."

His kind of state: Scott has won twice in Texas, making 48-foot putts on the final hole at the Shell Houston Open and at last year's Nelson. No wonder he's added Colonial to his schedule for the first time. Only one problem: It can be tough to find 48-foot putts on Colonial's greens.

Avoiding three-putts: Shaun Micheel leads the Tour in three-putt avoidance. He's notched three three-putts in 24 rounds. Ross Fisher ranks last with 19 three-putts in 21 rounds. If it's any consolation, Ropes would kill for that number.