Seventeen years ago today, Aug. 20, 2000, Tiger Woods won the PGA Championship. It was Woods’ third consecutive victory in one of golf’s majors, a streak that reached four when he won the 2001 Masters. The PGA Championship win at Valhalla made Woods the first golfer to win three majors in a calendar year since Ben Hogan in 1953.
Woods’ performance in 2000 comprises one of the most dominant stretches in golf history.
Records set at U.S. Open, Open Championship
Woods' first major win in 2000 came at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, a 15-stroke victory that still stands as the all-time largest winning margin by a major champion. He was the only player to finish under par in the event, carding a four-round total of 12 under.
A month after his U.S. Open victory, Woods won The Open with a score of 19 under. At the time, it was the all-time lowest 72-hole score to par in a major. It has since been surpassed by the 20-under scores of Jason Day (2015 PGA Championship) and Henrik Stenson (2016 Open Championship).
PGA Championship goes to playoff
Heading into the fourth round of the 2000 PGA Championship, Woods led by one stroke over Scott Dunlap and Bob May. Dunlap folded, but May and Woods each finished the back nine without a bogey.
May fired a 6-under 66 and reached 18 under. Woods shot a 5 under and beat May by one stroke on the first three-hole aggregate playoff at the PGA Championship.
It was Woods’ second consecutive victory at the PGA Championship, making him the first since Denny Shute in 1937 to successfully defend his title at the tournament. Woods set another record with the 2000 win: lowest score to par by a PGA Championship winner. (Day’s 2015 score has since surpassed Woods’ mark.)
Conspicuous presence at 2000 majors
Looking at the four majors of 2000, Woods had a combined score of 53 under. That is 35 shots better than his closest competitor, Ernie Els (18 under). May was third at 14 under for 2000’s four majors.
The 2000 PGA Championship was the third consecutive major victory for Woods, who won the Masters the next season. Only he and Young Tom Morris (1868 to 1872) have won four majors in succession.
Woods won his next two events after the PGA Championship. The three-event winning streak was the longest of Woods' 2000 season. He ended 2000 with a career-best nine wins, was runner-up four times and finished in the top 10 in 17 of his 20 PGA Tour starts. He won the scoring average title by more than a stroke, setting the all-time record for a season (68.17).