The biggest collapses in sports history

Anyone who has ever played sports knows the feeling, the game is on the line, you have the ball or club or bat in your possession and you need to make the game-winning play, but can you hold you nerve? Here are some of the times when even the pros managed to crumble when it mattered most.

Leading by three strokes on the final hole at Carnoustie, all van der Velde had to do was not completely captiulate. Unfortunately he found himself shin deep in a creek after an errant shot and his triple-bogey putt missed. The eventual winner, Paul Lawrie won via a playoff having been 10 strokes back at the start of play.

Despite their storied history, the Cubs have struggled to make many World Series finals, let alone win them. 2003 looked like a perfect chance, up 3-0 on the day and 3-2 on the series, they just had to close it out. Unfortunately, Steve Bartman, a super fan, tried to snag a foul ball from the stands which could’ve been the pivotal out. The Cubs collapsed from there.

Before the Chiefs’ current era of dominance, they were trophy starved for decades. 2013 looked a great chance to end the drought with QB Alex Smith leading them to a 28-point lead, leading 38-10. Unfortunately for KC, the Andrew Luck-led Colts somehow managed to overturn the deficit, winning 45-44.

Amen Corner has seen the demise of many a golfer, but few quite as spectacular as Spieth’s in 2016. Starting the 11th hole with a five-stroke lead a series of mishits saw him start the 13th hole with a three-shot deficit. Brutal.

The closest the Rangers came to a World Series pennant was game six of the 2011 finals series where they led 3-2. Going into the ninth inning they led the Cardinals 7-5 but somehow ended up losing the game 10-9 in the 11th inning and subsequently game seven.

Taking a six-shot lead into the final day, Norman looked set to be the first Aussie to ever win in Augusta, but a calamitous 18 saw him shoot a 78 and lose his lead to Englishman Nick Faldo. Tough going.

The Mavs were just over six minutes away from taking an essentially insurmountable 3-0 lead going into game four of the NBA finals against the Miami Heat. Unfortunately Dwyane Wade did Dwyane Wade stuff and the Mavs collapsed, losing four in a row and ultimately the series.

3-1 has become an unsightly number for the Warriors as they are the only team to lose an NBA Finals series from that position. Lebron James led the Cavs on a historic comeback winning three on the bounce to overcome the Steph Curry led Warriors.

The Bruins held a 3-0 lead as they entered game four agains the Philadelphia Flyers and looked set to advance. Somehow they allowed the Philly team back into the series and eventually lost 4-3 in a heartbreaking Game 7.

When teams are up 35-3 in the NFL, it’s usually time to start thinking about sitting the starters, but for the Oilers, it seemed to induce panic as they watched the Buffalo Bills stage a remarkable comeback eventually winning the game in overtime.

To call this a collapse might be a little harsh, but when you’re up a set and multiple tie-breaker points against Roger Federer, you’ve got to see the game out. The remarkable final finished three sets to two with Federer winning the final set 16-14. What could’ve been.

The Leafs seemed destined to cause their fans eternal pain, but the 2013 edition of heartbreaking losses by Toronto is one of their very worst. Up 4-1 in the final period against the Bruins, the Leafs brutally collapsed, conceding three straight and losing in OT.

With a four-shot lead and four holes to play, the Australian Scott looked set to win his first major tournament, but bogies over the next four holes saw him drop out of contention and Ernie Els somehow found himself winning.

PSG entered the second game of the two-leg tie with an aggregate lead of 4-0, a blistering start by Barca saw them come back to 3-0 on the night. But a PSG goal saw them gain a 5-3 aggregate score and crucially the away goals advantage meaning Barca needed to score three in 9 minutes. Somehow Neymar managed to drag his Barca side to victory, but ultimately it was a huge collapse from the Parisians.