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These are the top 10  greatest chokes in men's golf according to Steve Gribin of Yahoo! Sports.

No. 10 – 1956 Masters: With one round to go, amateur Ken Venturi held a four-shot lead. Venturi, however, recorded a final-round 80, losing by a stroke to Jackie Burke Jr, who came from eight shots behind. Venturi didn't play too badly on Sunday; he hit 15 of 18 greens. But he three-putted six times.

No. 9 – 1970 British Open: All that stood between Doug Sanders and the Claret Jug was a lousy three-foot par putt on the 72nd hole at St. Andrews. Just then, Sanders noticed a speck of sand and bent down to brush it away, but failed to resume his original setup. He missed the putt right, Jack Nicklaus prevailed the next day in an 18-hole playoff and Sanders, who won 20 tournaments, never captured a major title.

No. 8 – 1989 Masters: Scott Hoch was unable to convert a two-and-a-half foot putt on the first hole of his playoff with Nick Faldo. Faldo won with a 25-foot birdie on the next hole. Sadly, for Hoch, his surname reminds one of … well, you know. It's a shame that a guy who was extremely accomplished – he won 11 tournaments and was a two-time member of the U.S. Ryder Cup squad – will always be remembered more for that missed putt than anything else. It should be noted that he won an event in Las Vegas three weeks later.

No. 7 – 1979 Masters: Ahead by three strokes with three holes to go, Ed Sneed could afford a bogey or two down the stretch at Augusta National. What he could not afford, however, was three bogeys at 16, 17, and 18. At the final hole, he faced a six-foot putt for the victory. The ball stopped on the lip of the cup. A few more inches and Sneed's career – and life – would have been dramatically different. Instead, he went into a sudden-death playoff with Tom Watson, and the eventual winner, Fuzzy Zoeller, who was appearing in his first Masters.

No. 6 – 1961 Masters: As he stood on the 72nd tee, Arnold Palmer was a par away from his second straight Masters title, his third in four years. But Palmer made a double-bogey six, losing by a shot to Gary Player. His approach at 18 ended up in a green-side bunker. He skulled his recovery attempt over the green and into the gallery. He putted up the hill but finished about 15 feet away, missing the bogey putt that would have forced a playoff.

No. 5 – 2006 U.S. Open: It wasn't the famous errant tee shot on the 72nd hole that lost the Open for Phil Mickelson; it was his attempt to hit a miracle recovery. Instead of playing for a bogey that would have put him in an 18-hole playoff with Geoff Oglivy, Lefty gambled and lost by going for too much on his approach, costing him a third straight major title. He hasn't come close to winning one since.

No. 4 – 1968 Masters: By signing an incorrect card, Roberto De Vincenzo incurred a one-stroke penalty, denying him a chance for an 18-hole playoff with the declared winner, Bob Goalby. The mistake De Vincenzo made was signing for a four rather than the birdie three he actually recorded on the 17th hole, prompting one of the game's most memorable quotes: "What a stupid I am!" De Vincenzo said.

No. 3 – 1996 Masters: Finally, after the painful disappointments of 1986 and 1987 and other close calls, Greg Norman was going to put on the green jacket. Playing brilliantly, the Great White Shark, who shot a 63 on Thursday, entered the final round with a six-shot advantage. Amazingly, the lead evaporated in a hurry. Norman struggled on the front nine while his playing partner, Nick Faldo, superb from the start, won going away with a final-round 67. Norman, who finished with an abysmal 78, came close again in 1999, but was outdueled by Jose Maria Olazabal.

No. 2 – 1966 U.S. Open: With nine holes to go, Arnold Palmer was up by seven shots and clearly headed to his second Open triumph. And then it happened, the collapse that still seems hard to believe more than 40 years later. At 10, he gave up a shot. At 13, he gave up another. Even so, he was still five in front. But he dropped two more to Casper on 15, and another two at 16. After a bogey at 17, he and Casper were tied, which was how they ended up. The following day, the King assumed the lead again in the 18-hole playoff, this time by two, only to squander it again. Palmer never won another major.

No. 1 – 1999 British Open: To his credit, Van de Velde dealt with his blunder with class and humor. A lot of other players would not have been able to cope so well. Even so, it is difficult to comprehend why he didn't choose a more conservative route, especially after he got lucky with his wayward drive. All he needed was to hit a couple of short irons, get his double bogey, and get out of there with the biggest prize of his life. Trivia question: So who actually won the tournament? Paul Lawrie. Of course, it will always be remembered as the Open Jean Van de Velde threw away.

So, I wasn't alive for over half of these but I distinctly remember Greg Norman at the 96 Masters and Lefty in the 2006 Open. It's fun to look back at the times when people wish they could eat a Snickers Bar and get out of whatever they had gotten themselves into!

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