Tiger Woods always elevates his game at major championships. Woods currently has 15 major titles in his career, five of which came at the Masters. Woods has won the PGA Championship four times, and The Open Championship thrice. So that just leaves the U.S. Open. It can be said that three of Woods’ greatest career victories have come at this major. Let’s have a brief flashback on how it all happened. 

Tiger Woods has won the U.S. Open championship thrice in his career (2000, 2002, and 2008). He is just one shy of matching the all-time record of four victories (held by Willie Anderson, Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, and Jack Nicklaus). 

However, Woods is already on the same pedestal as the aforementioned golf greats even without the elusive fourth U.S. Open championship. Woods last reigned supreme at the U.S. Open in 2008, and it is worth taking a look at his impressive wins from the past. 

Tiger Woods at the 2000 U.S. Open – Only player who finished under par

The 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links was one of a kind. It tested the competitors so much to the extent that none of them broke under par – except for Tiger Woods. He finished the tournament 12-under par and won by 15 strokes. 

“What he did at Pebble Beach is still the greatest performance in golf of all time,” Phil Mickelson once said about Woods’ 2000 U.S. Open victory. Woods then set the records for the largest 36 and 54-hole leads in the tournament’s history. 

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Tiger Woods is often regarded as one of the greatest putters in golf, and his putting game flourished at the 2000 U.S. Open. He required zero three-putts at Pebble Beach and shot rounds of 65-69-71-67. 

2002 U.S. Open – Yet another championship as the only player to finish under par

The 2002 U.S. Open was played at Bethpage Black, a public course that was hosting a major for the first time. Woods came into the tournament having won the Masters a few months earlier. The challenging Bethpage State Park course offered little margin for errors and Woods was the only player who finished under-par after four rounds. 

Tiger Woods began the final round with a four-shot lead, but bogeyed the first two holes. This gave Sergio Garcia and Phil Mickelson the window to come back, but Woods held tight after that. 

He went on to card a 72 in the final round and finished 3-under for the tournament. Phil Mickelson finished second at even-par. 

“This one was hard fought. You couldn’t just slap it around and play poorly and contend for this championship. You had to play well, and I was able to do it the entire week,” Woods said after his 2002 U.S. Open win. 

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2008 U.S. Open – The epic playoff between Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate

A lot of Tiger Woods fans have this confusion running in their minds. Which is his greatest major championship win? Is it the first one at the 1997 Masters, or the comeback victory at Augusta in 2019? However, one could also put his 2008 U.S. Open triumph in the conversation. 

Woods’ 2008 U.S. Open win is one of the greatest moments in sports. He played the tournament with a broken leg. He had stress fractures in the tibia of his left leg and torn ligaments in his left knee. 

Yet, Tiger Woods dominated the field at Torrey Pines in 2008 and went on to capture his third U.S. Open crown. It didn’t come easy, however. Woods had to get past a playoff round and then sudden death against Rocco Mediate to win the title. 

Woods finished 1-under at Torrey Pines and so did Mediate. An 18-hole playoff round could not separate the two as they both finished even-par. However, Woods surveyed in sudden death on the 7th hole with a par as Mediate bogeyed it. 

It is not normal for a player to win a major championship in golf without proper fitness. But Tiger Woods proved to the world that he is superhuman. 

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