Tiger Woods' greatest moments in golf span three decades and include some of the most dominant individual performances in the history of professional sport. From his record-breaking debut at Augusta in 1997 to his comeback Masters win in 2019 following spinal fusion surgery, each of the ten moments on this page represents a different dimension of what made him the most significant player the game has produced.
These moments are ranked by their impact on the game: their combination of competitive difficulty, historical significance, and the degree to which they expanded what observers believed was possible. The shots themselves are inseparable from the circumstances that surrounded them.
2019 Masters: The Comeback
Tiger Woods won the 2019 Masters at Augusta National, his first major in eleven years and his fifteenth overall, following four back surgeries including a spinal fusion in 2017. The win is widely regarded as the greatest comeback in the history of professional sport. The final round charge, wearing red on Sunday at Augusta, produced scenes that drew the largest golf television audience in years.
2008 US Open: Winning on One Leg
Tiger Woods won the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines while playing on a leg that required surgery immediately after the tournament. He had two stress fractures in his left tibia and a torn anterior cruciate ligament. He won in an 18-hole playoff against Rocco Mediate, making the birdie putt on the 72nd hole that forced the playoff in the first place. He did not play again that season.
1997 Masters: Redefining the Possible
Tiger Woods won the 1997 Masters at age 21 by twelve shots, the largest winning margin in the tournament's history at the time. He finished at 18 under par. The performance did not simply announce a new talent: it forced Augusta National to lengthen the course and prompted a reassessment of what competitive golf at the highest level could look like. He became the youngest Masters champion at the time.
2000 US Open: 15 Shots at Pebble Beach
Tiger Woods won the 2000 US Open at Pebble Beach by fifteen shots, the largest winning margin in major championship history. He was 12 under par in a field where the next player finished at three over. Pebble Beach in US Open conditions is one of the most demanding tests in golf; the margin of victory belongs to a different category from any comparable performance in the sport.
The Chip-In at Augusta 16th: 2005 Masters
On the 16th hole at Augusta National during the final round of the 2005 Masters, Tiger Woods chipped in for birdie from an almost impossible position above the hole. The ball rolled slowly toward the cup, paused for a moment on the edge (the Nike swoosh visible to millions watching) and then dropped in. The moment is one of the most replayed in golf history and became the defining image of that Masters.
2000 Open Championship: The Stinger at St Andrews
Tiger Woods won the 2000 Open Championship at St Andrews by eight shots without finding a single bunker across four rounds, demonstrating a level of course management and shot-shaping precision that the Old Course had rarely seen. His use of the stinger, a low, penetrating iron shot designed for wind, became the signature shot of the week and influenced how players approached links golf for years afterward.
The Tiger Slam: 2000 to 2001
Between June 2000 and April 2001, Tiger Woods won four consecutive major championships: the US Open, The Open Championship, the PGA Championship, and the Masters. He held all four major titles simultaneously, a feat that no player in the history of professional golf had achieved in the same calendar year. The sequence is known as the Tiger Slam.
The Putt at 18: 2008 US Open
On the 72nd hole of the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines, Tiger Woods made a 12-foot birdie putt to tie Rocco Mediate and force an 18-hole playoff. He was playing on two stress fractures and a torn ligament. The putt is one of the most dramatic closing moments in major championship history.
2000 PGA Championship at Valhalla
Tiger Woods won the 2000 PGA Championship at Valhalla in a playoff against Bob May, completing his third major of the calendar year. May shot 31 on the back nine to force the playoff in one of the most competitive final rounds Tiger had faced in 2000. The win cemented the greatest single-season performance in modern major championship history: three majors from three different organisations in the same year.
The Wedge on 17 at TPC Sawgrass: 2013 Players
During the third round of the 2013 Players Championship, Tiger Woods hit a wedge approach on the par-3 17th at TPC Sawgrass that landed on the green, kicked sideways off the bank, and skipped across the water hazard before coming to rest near the hole. He made birdie. The shot was a product of misjudgement that became extraordinary by accident, and it encapsulated the kind of fortune that seemed to follow him at his best.
What is Tiger Woods' greatest moment in golf?
Tiger Woods' 2019 Masters victory is widely considered his greatest moment in golf, given the context. He won his fifteenth major championship eleven years after his fourteenth, following four back surgeries and a period in which returning to competitive golf at any level seemed unlikely. The 1997 Masters and the 2008 US Open are equally significant in different ways: the first announced him, the second defined his will to compete.
What is Tiger Woods' best shot?
The chip-in on the 16th hole at Augusta National during the 2005 Masters is the most iconic single shot of Tiger Woods' career. The ball rolled slowly to the cup and paused on the edge for over a second before dropping in. His stinger at St Andrews during the 2000 Open Championship is considered his most technically refined shot, demonstrating a level of control and imagination that influenced how the game is played on links courses.
How many majors did Tiger Woods win?
Tiger Woods won fifteen major championships: five Masters titles (1997, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2019), three US Opens (2000, 2002, 2008), three Open Championships (2000, 2005, 2006), and three PGA Championships (1999, 2000, 2006). He is second on the all-time major championship list behind Jack Nicklaus, who won eighteen.