It’s hard to wrap your head around what happened at Pebble Beach in June 2000. If you look at the leaderboard now, it looks like a typo. Tiger Woods finished at 12-under par. The guys in second place—Ernie Els and Miguel Ángel Jiménez—finished at 3-over.
That is a 15-stroke gap.
In a sport where the margin between winning and losing is usually a single putt or a gust of wind, a 15-shot victory is essentially a glitch in the matrix. It shouldn't happen. It definitely shouldn't happen at a 2000 US Open golf championship, which is historically designed to be the most grueling, soul-crushing test in the game. But Tiger didn't just pass the test; he basically rewrote the syllabus while everyone else was still trying to find their pencils.
The Myth of the "Even Par" US Open
Historically, the USGA (United States Golf Association) has a reputation for being a bit sadistic. They like long rough. They like greens that are as fast as a marble countertop. The goal for a typical US Open is usually to have the winner finish somewhere right around even par.
Going into the 2000 US Open golf tournament, the conditions at Pebble Beach were quintessential. The wind was whipping off the Pacific. The greens were bumpy, poa annua nightmares. If you talked to the pros on Tuesday or Wednesday that week, most of them thought even par would be a fantastic score. Honestly, they weren't wrong. If you take Tiger Woods out of the equation, 3-over par was the winning score.
Tiger played a different game.
He didn't make a single three-putt over 72 holes. Think about that for a second. On those bouncy, irregular greens, with the pressure of a Major on his shoulders, he never once took three strokes to get the ball in the hole from the green. It’s a statistic that sounds fake, but it's the backbone of why he was able to demoralize the best field in the world.
Saturday Morning and the "Longest" Round
The tournament wasn't just a physical grind; it was a logistical one. Fog and weather delayed play, meaning Tiger had to finish his second round on Saturday morning before starting his third. Most players would lose focus. Tiger just went out and birdied the 14th, 15th, and back-to-back holes to finish a 69.
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He had a six-shot lead before the third round even started.
By the time Sunday rolled around, the tournament was over. The only question left was how big the margin would be. It wasn't about who would win the trophy—the "Havemeyer Trophy" was already headed to Tiger's mantle—it was about how much history he could trample on his way there.
Why the 2000 US Open Golf Performance Will Never Be Repeated
We see dominant athletes all the time. Patrick Mahomes in a two-minute drill. Novak Djokovic on clay. Caitlin Clark from the logo. But golf is different because you aren't playing against a defender; you're playing against the course and your own head.
Tiger's performance at the 2000 US Open golf event was the peak of his "Old Tiger" era. This was the Tiger who swung with a violent, beautiful speed that shouldn't have been controllable, yet it was. He was first in driving distance and first in greens in regulation.
Basically, he hit it further than everyone and more accurately than everyone. That’s a cheat code.
The Triple Bogey that Didn't Matter
Even his mistakes were legendary. During the third round, Tiger hooked a ball into the Pacific Ocean on the 18th hole. He took a triple-bogey 8. For any other golfer, that's a collapse. That's the start of a "Jean van de Velde" style meltdown.
Tiger just shrugged.
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He still shot a 71 that day. He actually extended his lead despite a triple bogey. That is the kind of psychological warfare that ended careers. When your opponent plays their worst hole of the week and still beats you by three strokes on the day, where do you go from there? You go to the clubhouse and order a double.
The Equipment Gap and the "Solid" Ball
There is a technical detail from the 2000 US Open golf championship that often gets overlooked by casual fans. That week, Tiger was one of the few players who had fully transitioned to the solid-construction ball—specifically the Nike Tour Accuracy.
Most of the field was still playing "wound" balls—liquid-filled centers wrapped in rubber bands.
Wound balls spun like crazy. In the wind at Pebble Beach, those balls would "balloon" and catch the breeze, making it impossible to control distances. Tiger’s solid-core ball cut through the wind like a knife. It gave him a massive technological advantage, but he also had the hands to navigate the touch shots. It was the perfect marriage of a generational talent and a breakthrough in equipment.
By the next year, almost everyone had switched. But for that one week in June, Tiger had a "laser" while everyone else was using a "musket."
The 15-Shot Shadow
To put the 15-stroke victory into perspective, look at the other greats. Jack Nicklaus never won a Major by more than nine. Arnold Palmer? Never more than six.
The previous record for a US Open was 11 strokes, set by Willie Smith in 1899. Tiger broke a 101-year-old record while playing against a significantly deeper and more athletic field.
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The "Tiger Slam" Began Here
While we talk about the 2000 US Open golf tournament as a standalone event, its real importance is that it served as the opening act for the "Tiger Slam."
- He won the US Open in June (by 15).
- He won the Open Championship at St. Andrews in July (by 8).
- He won the PGA Championship at Valhalla in August (in a playoff).
- He won the Masters in April 2001.
He held all four Major trophies at the same time. Nobody else has ever done it in the modern era. But the 2000 US Open was the "statement" win. It was the moment the rest of the world realized they weren't just playing against a great golfer; they were living through a historical anomaly.
How to Apply the "Tiger 2000" Mindset to Your Own Game
Look, you’re probably not going to win your local club championship by 15 strokes. You're probably not going to go 72 holes without a three-putt on greens that look like the surface of the moon. But there are real lessons from Tiger’s performance that apply to any amateur golfer trying to break 90 or 100.
Focus on "Leave" Areas
Tiger didn't just fire at every pin. He was incredibly disciplined about where he missed. If the pin was tucked near a cliff, he hit to the middle of the green. His discipline was more impressive than his distance.
Master the 4-Footers
The reason Tiger didn't three-putt wasn't just his lag putting; it was his ability to clean up the "stressful" 4-foot par saves. He was robotic from that distance. If you want to lower your handicap, stop practicing your driver and start grinding on those knee-knockers.
Forget the Triple
Tiger's bounce-back after the triple bogey on the 18th is a masterclass in emotional regulation. Most amateurs let one bad hole ruin the next three. Tiger treated every shot as its own independent event.
Practical Steps for Your Next Round
If you want to channel a bit of that 2000 energy next time you hit the links, start with these three things:
- Chart Your Misses: Before you hit a shot, identify the "dead" zone where you absolutely cannot go. If it's a bunker on the right, aim 20 yards left. Play for the "fat" part of the green, just like Tiger did at Pebble.
- The "No Three-Putt" Challenge: Make it your primary goal for the round. Don't worry about birdies. Just worry about getting your first putt within a 3-foot circle.
- Check Your Ball Tech: Ensure you’re playing a modern, high-quality ball that fits your swing speed. Don't just play whatever you found in the woods. Consistency starts with your equipment.
The 2000 US Open golf championship wasn't just a tournament; it was a demolition. It changed the way courses were designed ("Tiger-proofing") and it changed the way a generation of kids approached the game. We will likely never see a 15-shot victory in a Major again. It’s the closest thing golf has to Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game—a statistical outlier that reminds us exactly what the human ceiling looks like when everything clicks.