Tiger Woods risked major golf rules saga by asking spectators to help him on the course

When was in his prime you rarely caught him in conversation with playing partners or fans - except when his ball was stuck behind a boulder it seems. Renowned for his focus, steely gaze, and entourage of security guards when out on the course, Woods wasn't one for fraternising during the heat of the battle.

However, he broke character in the 1999 Phoenix Open, the same year in which he captured his second major championship.

Then only 23, Woods was in contention on the final day at Scottsdale, playing alongside Rocco Mediate, when he uncharacteristically hooked his tee shot on the 13th.

His ball struck a huge rock before finishing up just inches away from it, leaving the American with a seemingly impossible second shot. However, Woods wasn't about to take a penalty drop, and instead cited the rule that allows golfers to move 'loose impediments', objects such as leaves, that are not attached to the golf course.

The rules official at the time was Orlando Pope, who in an interview last year recalled how Woods told him the boulder was 'just lying there' and could be moved. He explained: "Tiger said he thought it was decorative and it wasn't attached, it was a loose impediment.

"I've got to give him credit. Looking back I would have never thought about asking for that ruling. Tiger then asked if he could move it and I said yes. Tiger thought for a moment, then asked if he could have help. I responded, You can have all the help you want.'"

Pope was left wishing he'd not been so accommodating. In bizarre scenes, Woods' caddie Mike Cowan then asked fans following the 15-time major champion to help heave the obstacle out of the way, while a smiling Woods watched on.

To cap the drama, an unusually affable Woods shook hands with every person that helped, before going on to make the unlikeliest of birdies. On commentary, Ken Venturi was scathing over Pope's decision to give Woods the ruling, with the incident soon going viral to the point it was discussed during live coverage of the Super Bowl later that night.

Mercifully for Pope, Woods would finish three shots behind eventual winner Mediate, and the official now serves as a TV rules and video analyst for the . But 25 years on, he admitted he still has to regularly defend his decision in Phoenix.

"A couple of times the ruling has come up for discussion," he said. "One is at the PGA Tour rules seminar. I get attacked with questions on why I made the ruling I did. Second, when we bring in new staff, they ask about it during orientation, because it is usually included in one of the slides."

The rock itself has been cemented in folklore, quite literally. It remains on the course with a commemorative plaque on its side, that reads: '1999 Phoenix Open: On January 31, during the fourth round, Tiger Woods' tee shot came to rest in proximity to this 1-ton boulder. After being ruled a 'loose impediment,' a group of spectators moved the boulder, allowing Woods to birdie the hole.'