Seve’s dance. Rory’s roar. Tiger’s fist pumps. In more than 50 years of covering sport, I’ve been fortunate enough to take some of golf’s most iconic photographs.
While my career was kickstarted by a split-second snap that captured Seve Ballesteros’ famous celebration at the 1984 Open Championship, others have taken meticulous planning.
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Last year at Augusta National, I was setting up at 06:15, almost 12 hours before Rory McIlroy’s Masters-winning moment, to make sure I was in the perfect spot to capture his emotion as he completed the career Grand Slam by claiming his first Green Jacket.
And, while I’ve been privileged to photograph all 15 of Tiger Woods’ major victories, one image in particular took months of planning.
Here are a selection of my favourite images – and the stories behind them.
Seve’s celebration
This was taken at my first major championship in 1984 and turned into a hugely influential picture. I was covering the final day for the Observer newspaper, and I came away with perhaps the most iconic moment of Seve Ballesteros’ career – which is many people’s favourite picture from the modern era of golf.
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Only a few photographers caught this split-second moment when all the elements came together – where his right arm is, the angle of the putter, the position of his legs, his facial expression.
There is always an element of luck to every great picture but I had been taking photos at sporting events for about a decade by this point so I had some experience of where to position myself and what to look out for.
I knew from previous celebrations he would be animated and emotional, but the timing was everything.
The newspaper didn’t need the image until the Tuesday, to go in the following Sunday’s paper, so I drove home overnight to my lab in Hemel Hempstead. It was taken using a manually focused lens so it was a huge relief when I saw the image had come out in focus.
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It was picked up by several magazines across Europe and Japan and it still sells today.
Tiger’s tiger
With Tiger Woods, it was a case of ‘just shoot from every angle you could’. Some sportspeople you only need a silhouette to be able to recognise – and Tiger is definitely one of those.
But I had been trying to get this picture for many months – even years.
I wanted a picture that was sharp on his well-known headcover of a tiger but for him to be abstract to it, as opposed to standing next to it.
Photographers often chat to caddies and ask for help from time to time in how they position the bag, or clubs, to aid us in getting the best shot. It’s like being in a travelling circus and the caddies are a great and insightful group.
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I knew Tiger’s caddie Stevie Williams well, and although he did help me out with some shots, I want to stress he didn’t here!
This opportunity arose at the Dubai Desert Classic in 2001, when Tiger was bending down to pick grass up to check the wind direction for his second shot to the 18th green.
Faldo’s first
This is a photo that came to mean more once Sir Nick Faldo had completed a grinding round of 18 pars to win his first major at the 1987 Open Championship.
Faldo himself called it a key shot – “a fantastic 35-yard shot I knocked to three feet” – as it helped him record an eighth par at Muirfield to keep the momentum of his unusual round going.
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I have taken plenty of other photos of Faldo but this one shows a moment where it could have all gone wrong. It shows his focus and determination and what winning is all about.
And that’s what he did all day with his solid round, as he overcame a three-shot deficit on the back nine to beat Paul Azinger.
Rory’s roar
I was up early to get this shot of Rory McIlroy joining golf’s most exclusive club as he completed the career Grand Slam by winning the Masters at Augusta National in 2025.
Given there is no inside-the-ropes access for media and photographers at Augusta, I arrived at 06:15 – around 12 hours before the winning moment – to queue up and put a chair down among the patrons beside the 18th green.
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The traditions at Augusta allow you to place your chair greenside and then wander off for the day knowing nobody will have taken your spot.
I had to hope it was going to be the right place to capture history, although experience over the years has helped me learn the best places to be.
Every time I arrive I have to scope out any changes though, because although it may look like nothing much alters from year to year, they may have added trees, so you want to see how that might have added shadows and views to shots.
I’d already decided to follow Rory for as much of the final round as I could. I’ve got to know him extremely well since first meeting him at a Faldo Series event when he was about 13 years old, and when he holed that winning putt it was like my nephew had won the Grand Slam.
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Both Rory and his caddie Harry Diamond have a large print of this. I try to maintain a professional relationship with the players but I will offer major winners a copy of any photos I have of the winning moment.
Bethpage bonus
It is amazing what body language can tell you in a still picture.
I want to get this image at every Ryder Cup and, while it’s not easy getting a shot of the captains together while the matches are taking place, this was on the opening morning of Europe’s victory at Bethpage in 2025.
You’ve got a cool, calm and controlled European captain in Luke Donald, while his US counterpart Keegan Bradley has a nervousness in his look. I like the fact Luke is walking in front and Keegan is slightly out of focus – a bit like how the Ryder Cup went that week.
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When I spotted them, I wasn’t remotely interested in the match they were following. It was all about focusing on them to get this picture.
The captains set the tone and I wouldn’t hesitate in putting Bradley in the top five of most passionate captains I’ve witnessed – but perhaps he wanted that win too much?
Sarazen’s stories
What a vivid memory I have of the time I spent with 1935 Masters champion Gene Sarazen on the balcony of the clubhouse at Augusta National in 1994.
The seven-time major winner – and founding member of the six-strong Grand Slam club – was into his 90s when this was taken.
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We spent a fabulous hour chatting about how he invented the modern sand wedge and about my golfing hero – Walter Hagen – being a contemporary of his. He regaled me with many wonderful stories of them during their early years on the road.
I wanted to take him down to the 15th fairway where he hit the ‘shot heard around the world’ [Sarazen holed his second shot on the par-five hole to pick up three shots and eventually win what was the second staging of the tournament] but it wasn’t possible.
Instead, we chatted and that relaxed him for the photographs. I ended up with this cool portrait and priceless memories.
Wondrous Woods
While Tiger’s comeback win at the Masters in 2019 was an extraordinary story, his previous major victory, at the 2008 US Open, was the most epic major win of his career.
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We knew he was badly injured, but when we later discovered the extent of the pain he was playing through [he had surgery and missed the rest of that season] it makes it stand out for me.
This is his reaction to holing a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to get into an 18-hole play-off with Rocco Mediate.
The inside-the-ropes access afforded to photographers at the US Open allowed me to follow Tiger for a number of holes and still be able to get in position to capture this moment.
Lee Westwood had been playing with Tiger and he missed a 15-footer that would have got him in the play-off too.
Woods went on to win the play-off on Monday, but who would have thought then that the 32-year-old, with 14 majors in the bag, would not catch Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18?
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Happy Harrington
Throughout my career, it’s not always been about photographing players in the heat of battle.
I’ve enjoyed working on features with players at the height of their powers, as I did here with three-time major winner Padraig Harrington in 2009. The year before, he had won the US PGA Championship and his second successive Open Championship title.
He had no idea what I was doing when I put around 1,000 golf balls on the green but I knew the extent to which he practised and after a conversation he understood where I was coming from and he really got into it.
The timing of getting Padraig to do this feature session, just down the road from his home in Ireland at The European Club, really helped create the atmosphere to get this picture.
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Dornoch drone
I wanted to include one final image of a golf course close to my heart. This showcases drone photography, which is very much part of my workflow now.
The skill level required was greater when I was starting out 50 years ago without autofocus and limited film in the camera. But you still need skill when using a drone.
Putting a drone up doesn’t guarantee a good photo. The camera is how you see a photo in your head. The background, the light, the composition; all need to be as close to perfect as possible.
This picture at Royal Dornoch, in the north of Scotland, was taken at sunrise. I live in the town and it’s a great place to head back to after the bustle of a major.
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It’s difficult to pick a favourite photo out of the hundreds of thousands I’ve taken.
As one of the few remaining independent golf photographers, I’ve built one of the most comprehensive private collections in the sport.
It’s hard to beat that first major and taking that photo of Seve winning but then I captured Rory’s emotions at Augusta towards the end of my career and it has been an utter joy and privilege to photograph every one of Tiger’s 15 major wins in the middle.
This week, as I cover my 151st major championship – in addition to every Ryder Cup since 1985 – I am honoured to be receiving the PGA of America Lifetime Achievement Award in Photojournalism.
While there are days that are long and stressful, I love what I do. I’ll know when to step away – but that isn’t now.
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