
Tiger Woods took the game of golf to new levels when he turned professional in 1996. Despite being new to the PGA, Woods had already made a name for himself aged just three when he appeared on The Mike Douglas Show putting against comedian Bob Hope. During his youth, Woods was recognized as a child prodigy and appeared on magazine covers and in tournaments around the United States. He later attended Stanford University and became a darling of the sports media.
By the time he became a fully-fledged professional, Woods had already generated plenty of buzz. It was no wonder Nike made him the face of its golf revolution and the two were inseparable until they parted company in 2024 after 27 years.
Woods’ list of accomplishments is vast and he is widely considered the greatest golfer of the modern era. He has won 15 golf majors which places him second behind Jack Nicklaus. Woods jointly leads the list of all-time PGA Tour wins with 82 alongside Sam Snead. At one time it looked like Woods would easily break Snead’s record. However, Woods didn’t win on the PGA Tour for over five years between 2013 and 2018.
When Tiger Woods eventually returned to winning ways he did so in spectacular fashion, taking the 2018 season ending Tour Championship by two strokes. Better was to come the following April when Woods won his fifth Masters at Augusta, almost eleven years after his previous Major win back in the 2008 US Open. After years of battling physical and mental health issues, Woods donning the famous Green Jacket once more time is one of sport’s great comeback stories.
His 82nd and final PGA Tour victory came in Japan at the 2019 Zozo Championship. Although Woods continues to play, his participation is now restricted to the Majors and other select events. Golf fans still desperately want Woods to return to the player he once was but he is unlikely to achieve those great heights again. Regardless of his downfall due to injuries and issues off the golf course, Woods will be remembered as one of the greatest of all-time.
Tiger Woods’ Major Wins
Years | Masters | US PGA | U.S. Open | Open |
---|---|---|---|---|
1997 | ✅ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
1999 | ✕ | ✅ | ✕ | ✕ |
2000 | ✕ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
2001 | ✅ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
2002 | ✅ | ✕ | ✅ | ✕ |
2005 | ✅ | ✕ | ✕ | ✅ |
2006 | ✕ | ✅ | ✕ | ✅ |
2007 | ✕ | ✅ | ✕ | ✕ |
2008 | ✕ | ✕ | ✅ | ✕ |
2019 | ✅ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
Masters Wins: 5
The Masters Tournament is one of the toughest competitions to win in all of golf, not just because of the difficultly of the course at Augusta National but also because of the strict entry criteria. There is, therefore, an extent to which Tiger Woods winning it less than a year after turning professional is a sign of just what a talented golfer he was in his prime. It is also worth remembering that it had only been around 20 years since African-American golfers had even been allowed to play in the Masters, so Woods not only winning the competition but also winning it more than he won any of the other Majors is a huge step forward.
1997 – First Major Win by Record 12 Shot Margin
The 61st renewal of the Masters in 1997 saw Tiger Woods not only win his first Major but doing so by absolutely pulverising the field. At the time of writing, no one has won the competition by more than the 12 strokes that Woods finished ahead of Tom Kite in second place, demonstrating his absolute dominance of the course. He was in fourth at the end of the first round, then scored a 66 on the second to move to -8. A 65 on the following day moved him to -15, nine clear of Constantino Rocca in second, then scored a 69 to finish with 270, becoming both the youngest player to win the Masters and the first non-white player to do so.
2001 – ‘Tiger Slam’ Completed
There is an argument that the 2001 Masters was the moment that Tiger Woods proved to the world that he was the best golfer on the planet and arguably the best ever to play the game. Having won the US Open, Open Championship and the PGA Championship in 2000, he held all four Majors when he won the Masters this year; not bad when you consider he wasn’t even in the top ten at the end of day one. He moved to tied-second on day two, though, then took the lead outright on day three, having shot a 70, 66 and 68 respectively. A final day 68 saw him finish on -16, two strokes clear of David Duval in second place.
2002 – Green Jacket Defended by Three Shots
If Woods had any doubters about his talent left to convince then becoming just the third golfer in the history of the sport to retain the Masters would surely have dealt with them. The course had been lengthened by 285 yards over the previous year, but that couldn’t do anything to stop him from taking it by the scruff of its neck. He was tied-seventh at the end of day one, ending it on -2, then moved to tied-fourth at the end of the second round’s play when he finished on -5 overall. Saturday saw him finish on 66 to move to -11 and a tie for the lead, then the Sunday saw him post a 71 to finish on -12, three clear of second.
2006 – Playoff Victory Over Chris DiMarco
There weren’t many ways that Tiger Woods hadn’t won the Masters by the time the 2006 iteration of the Tournament got underway, but winning on a play-off was one of them. With rain causing problems all week and repeatedly delaying play, Woods was outside of the top ten at the end of the first round. He moved into third by the end of the second round’s play, adding a 66 to his 74 of the previous day. The third round saw him move into first thanks to a 65, then he and Chris DiMarco ended the competition having both shot 276 over the four days. That led to a sudden-death play-off, which Woods won with a birdie.
2019 – Eleven Year Wait for a Major Win Ends
Of all of the accomplishments that Tiger Woods managed over the years, you could argue that his 2019 Masters win was the most impressive of all. He hadn’t won a Major since 2008, with many all but writing him off on that front when the Tournament got underway. Only Jack Nicklaus at 46 was older then Woods at 43 in terms of being a Masters winner. He shot 70 on day one, then 68 on day two to put him on -6 heading into the weekend. A 67 allowed him to move within two of Francesco Molinari in the lead, then a final day 70 put him on 13 under for the competition and saw him win the Masters one ahead of three players.
PGA Championship Wins: 4
Having won the Masters in 1997 when he was just 21-years-old, there was an expectation surrounding Tiger Woods in professional golf. In spite of that, though, it took him a few more years to win more Majors, his win in the PGA Championship in 1999 being the flame that lit the blue-touch paper. It was one of his favourite tournaments to play, coming second only to the Masters in terms of how many times he won it during his career. He may well look back on his life and wonder what he could’ve achieved in the PGA Championship and other Majors if not for the time he took out of golf to try to fix his marriage.
1999 – Sergio García Edged Out by One Shot
Played at Medinah Country Club in Illinois, the 1999 PGA Championship saw Woods and Sergio García go head-to-head in a many that led many to think that the pair would be battling it out over Majors for years to come. It was García who led at the end of day one, with Woods tied-tenth. Day two saw García slip to tied-fifth and Woods move two shots clear of him, whilst the third round put Woods tied first and García remain two shots behind him. On the final day, Woods shot 72 to finish on -11, giving García a chance that he couldn’t quite take, ending up one shot behind him and giving Woods his first PGA Championship win.
2000 – Playoff Victory Over Bob May
It was off to Valhalla Golf Club for the PGA Championship in 2000, with Woods looking to become the first player to win back-to-back PGAs for the first time since 1937. Having already won the US Open and the British Open, he was also hoping to become the first player since Ben Hogan in 1953 to win three Majors in the same calendar year, later winning the Masters to complete what became known as the ‘Tiger Slam’. He was tied-first at the end of day one, sitting on -6, then first in his own right after a 67 moved him to -11 on day two. Day three took him to -13, then the Sunday resulted in him and Bob May tying on -18. Woods won the play-off with a birdie.
2006 – Five Shot Win at Medinah
Course number 3 at Medinah Country Club was the site of Woods’s first PGA Championship win and also where the 2006 iteration of the tournament was held. Having won the Open Championship four weeks earlier, Woods was in fine form heading into the week, ending day one tied for tenth after shooting a three under par 69. A 68 on day two saw him tied-fifth, then he was tied for the lead with Luke Donald after scoring 65 on the Saturday. Having won 11 of the previous Majors in which he’d led or shared the lead after 54 holes, he moved to 12-0 when he shot 68 and finished on -18, five clear of Shaun Micheel in second.
2007 – Two Stroke Win at Southern Hills
Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma was the site of the final PGA Championship win of Tiger Woods’s career. Having won it the year before, he was looking to repeat his own success of defending his title, as he’d managed seven years earlier. Things didn’t start well, with Woods ending day one one over par and six shots off the lead. Never a man to be kept down, he tied the record for a single-round lowest score at a Major when he shot 63 on day two, moving him into the outright lead. A 69 on the Saturday lengthened that lead to -7, then the same score on the final day allowed him to finish on -8 for the win.
US Open Wins: 3
Winning the Masters will always be one of the most impressive things that a golfer can do, whilst winning the PGA Championship is also a feather in the cap. For American players, though, winning the home Open sits at the top of the list of priorities, given the extent to which it shows you’ve got the ability to take on the entire field and come out on top. Woods managed to do it three times during his career, breaking his duck in the competition as part of his ‘Tiger Slam’ in 2000. Interestingly, it was the only one of the Majors that he never managed to retain during his career, showing just how hard it is to win.
2000 – Record 15-Stroke Margin of Victory
The year 2000 was, for Tiger Woods, the most impressive in an incredible career. You could argue that it was the most impressive of any sportsman ever, such was the extent to which he dominated golf. The US Open was held at Pebble Beach Golf Links in California, with the United States Golf Association having moved it up two years in the rotation in order to begin the millennium with a memorable tournament. They did exactly that thanks to Woods’s dominance, leading wire-to-wire and shooting 65, 69, 71 and 67 to end the competition on 272 for the week. His -12 was 15 shots clear of second, the most dominant display in an Major ever.
2002 – Three Stroke Win at Bethpage Black
The US Open moved to Farmingdale, New York and the Black Course of Bethpage State Park in 2002. Dubbed ‘The People’s Open’ on account of the fact that it was the first to be held on a public golf course, Woods’s win in it was the first time since Jack Nicklaus in 1972 that the winner of the Masters also won the Open. He shot a three-under 67 on day one to lead, stretching that out to -5 after a 68 on day two. The Saturday saw him score level par to remain on -5, then on Sunday he shot +2 to finish on 277, or -3, for the week. He won by three shots from Phil Mickelson, being the only golfer to end the week under par.
2008 – Sudden-Death Playoff Win Over Rocco Mediate
The final US Open win of Woods’s career came in 2008 when the tournament was held on Torrey Pines Golf Course’s South Course in California. It was a win that saw him equal Jack Nicklaus’s record of winning three career Grand Slams. Having been short of match practice and suffering with trouble in his left knee, undergoing surgery on it after the end of the competition, Woods shot 72 on day one and 68 on day two to head into the weekend tied-second. A 70 on day three allowed him to take the lead, then a 73 on the Sunday meant that he tied for the win with Rocco Mediate. The pair played an 18-hole play-off, which went to sudden-death that Woods won.
Open Championship Wins: 3
Wining the Masters is hugely impressive, whilst victory in the PGA Championship means a lot. Getting a US Open title to your name shows you can take on the field in your home country, but managing to lift the Claret Jug is proof that you can play golf in virtually any conditions. Tiger Woods knew that winning the Open Championship was what he needed to do to truly earn his place in golfing folklore, doing so for the first time as part of the Tiger Slam in 2000. That was the year that he showed the world that he was one of the best there had ever been, going on to win it another two times after, as if to prove the point.
2000 – Woods Becomes Youngest Career Grand Slam Winner
Held at the Old Course at St Andrews, the 2000 Open Championship saw 24-year-old Tiger Woods become the youngest ever player to win a career Grand Slam, coming two years before Jack Nicklaus managed it. He had already won the US Open and would go on to win the PGA Championship and the Masters in 2001 to compete the ‘Tiger Slam’. He ended day one on -5, tied-second, then moved into first on day two after shoot a 66. Day three saw another 67 to put him on -16, six shots clear of second, then a final day 69 saw him end the weekend on -19, eight shots in front of the chasing back, scoring 269 for the week.
2005 – Wire-to-Wire Win at St Andrews
Tiger Woods’s second Open Championship win also came on the Old Course at St Andrews, being his tenth Major victory. He lead wire-to-wire, with the 29-year-old completing his second career Grand Slam. An opening round 66 put him six under, which he followed up with a 67 to move to -11 and four clear of Colin Montgomerie in second. ‘Monty’ obviously had the support of the home crowd, being Scottish, but Woods shot a 71 on the Saturday to move to -12. A final round 70 was enough to secure the win for the American, finishing on 274 for the week, or -14, which was five shots clear of Montgomerie’s 279.
2006 – Title Defended at Hoylake
The 2004 Open Championship was held at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake; the first time that the course had held the tournament since 1967. A challenging links course, the weather was kind in the week of the Open, meaning that Woods could play with his irons all the way round and avoid any of the major traps. Graeme McDowell’s 66 was a new course record on day one, with Woods shooting 67. He broke the record again on day two with a 65 to move clear of the pack on -12, then finished day three with a 71 to put him on -13. A final day 67 was enough to see him win his first Major since his father, Earl, had died two months earlier.