Let’s do the numbers: breaking down a quarter century of Tiger Woods as a pro

Ten mind blowing stats

10 – Seasons that Woods has won at least five times, a PGA Tour record. Sam Snead is second with eight seasons of five or more wins.

7 – Woods’ longest winning streak, which spanned 2006 and 2007. Woods also has winning streaks of six and five tournaments. No one else since 1953 has won more than three consecutive PGA Tour events.

4 – Number of times Woods has won by at least 10 shots.

23.3% – Woods’ winning percentage in his 354 PGA Tour starts as a professional. Ben Hogan is second at 21.3 percent and Snead fourth at 14 percent.

11 – Woods’ wins that have come in playoffs. Incredibly, his PGA Tour record in extra holes is 11-1, with his lone loss coming to Billy Mayfair at the 1998 Nissan Open. Woods’ first tour win in 1996 came in a playoff against Davis Love III in Las Vegas.

5 – Times Ernie Els and Vijay Singh finished runner-up in a Woods win, the most of anyone. Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk and Davis Love III have each finished runner-up to Woods four times.

2 – Times Woods hasn’t won when holding at least a share of the lead after 54 holes. He has converted 44 of 46 of these chances, a staggering 96 percent.

15 – The largest margin of victory of Woods’ career, his masterpiece at Pebble Beach in the 2000 US Open.

24 – Number of wins in which Woods trailed after 54 holes. His biggest come-from-behind win was five shots – at the 2000 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and at the 2009 Arnold Palmer Invitational.

82 – Tiger’s total PGA Tour victories so far.

Using the Sam Snead criteria, Tiger really has 96 wins 

By Alex Myers

From the time Tiger Woods won his first Masters in 1997, the vulnerability of Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 professional Major championships has been a popular golf debate. Injuries, surgeries and scandals, however, shifted the conversation to a more attainable goal for Tiger: Sam Snead’s mark of 82 career PGA Tour titles.

Woods’ win at the 2019 Masters ended a decade-plus drought in the game’s biggest events, but another record came into focus in the aftermath because Major No.15 for Tiger was also PGA Tour title No.81. Much like a baseball team’s star player chasing 3,000 hits, the PGA Tour launched a “Chasing 82” marketing campaign until Woods tied Snead’s record with a win at the 2019 Zozo Championship in Japan. 

But Tiger should have already broken the mark, and not just because of the obstacles that stunted his career trajectory. This isn’t another “Sam Snead’s win total is flawed” piece. Although some have made that case persuasively, we’re not here to take titles away from a legend. What can’t be argued is that Snead and Woods won PGA Tour titles at prodigious rates. How amazing is reaching the 80-win milestone? A player would have to average four wins per season for two decades. Now consider that for more than a decade (from 1981 to 1993) no golfer won more than four times in a season.

However, for this argument, it’s important to point out that of the 82 wins that stood for Snead, several might not qualify in today’s game. One, the 1937 Crosby, was shortened to 18 holes because of weather. Snead also has three 36-hole triumphs, including the 1946 World Championship of Golf, which had only four players in the field. (Today, the PGA Tour recognises only events that go at least 54 holes.) Five other Snead victories came against fields of 16 or fewer players. Also, five team events count towards Snead’s total. The point is not to diminish the Slammer’s accomplishments. What we’re here to do is to point out that if Tiger got credit for similar victories, his total would be a lot higher.

Take the Hero World Challenge, the small but select year-end event run by the Tiger Woods Foundation. Since its inception in 2000, the tournament host has won it five times. But the event has never counted as an official PGA Tour event even though Official World Golf Ranking points have been awarded since 2009. The five wins Woods has in this tournament match up nicely with those five Snead wins against fields of 16 or fewer, don’t you think? With these victories alone, Woods is up to 87 career tour titles.

Keeping the comps going, what about Tiger’s seven wins at the Grand Slam of Golf? At first glance, golf fans might be quick to discount these as exhibitions, but they match two characteristics of several of Snead’s wins: it’s a 36-hole event with four golfers. Another panel feeling as generous as the one assembled more than three decades ago to evaluate Snead’s win total could add another seven to Tiger’s, bringing it to 94.

Oh, yeah, Tiger has team titles, too! Woods won back-to-back World Cup of Golf titles in 1999 and 2000, first with Mark O’Meara and then with David Duval. Two World Cups brings Woods to 96 wins. Even though he’s technically still stuck on 82 until his next victory, Tiger Woods has long been the true career leader in PGA Tour titles.

Sorry, Sam.

Charting 25 years* Woods’ pro career at a glance

The Big Cat’s Big Memory 

By Daniel Rapaport

Tiger Woods is known as having something of a photographic memory. According to legend, he can recall distances, club selections and reads years later. We wanted to put that famous memory to the test by seeing if he could recall details about all types of wins: Majors, blowouts, comebacks, you name it. So we looked into all his 82 victories – which span four US presidential administrations, four decades, four back surgeries and 23 years – to pick a relatively representative sample and quiz the player tied for the most wins in PGA Tour history. The results were, as things tend to be with Tiger, remarkable. Woods’ face lit up as he discussed intricacies of victories from the 1990s, recalled competing against players who are now on the Champions Tour or beyond and relived his favourite activity: winning. 

*Correct answer in bold; Woods’ answer, if incorrect, in red.

Win No.5: In the 1997 Byron Nelson Classic, you fell two behind after hitting your drive on the third hole into the water. You went on to win by two shots. Who is the player you trailed after that water ball, the same guy who wound up finishing second?

A. Chris Perry

B. Dan Forsman

C. Lee Rinker

D. Jim Furyk

Woods blurted out Rinker’s name before I finished asking the question. “That was my first start after the Masters. I remember that one. Oh, yeah, I do.”

A month earlier at Augusta National, Woods had shown the world what its next sporting icon looked like with a 12-shot triumph. At the Nelson, Woods suggested he didn’t have his “A” game but still got the victory – prompting Rinker to ask: “What is his ‘A’ game, 40 under par?” 

Win No.13: Heading into the final round of the 1999 Disney Classic, you shared the lead with Bob Tway. But a different player made a charge until a three-putt on 17 doomed his chances, and he finished one behind you. Who was that player?

A. Ernie Els

B. John Huston

C. Vijay Singh

D. Jeff Sluman

Right after I finished saying “Disney Classic”, Woods said: “I beat Ernie Els in the final round.”

Win No.20: You entered the final round of the 2000 US Open at Pebble Beach with a 10-shot lead and won by a record 15 shots. What did you shoot in the final round?

A. 68

B. 71

C. 67

D. 69

 “I won by 15. Shot 12-under. That’s what I remember.”

With Woods leading by double digits heading into the final round, the question wasn’t who would win but by how many. So as not to lose focus, Woods played a game within a game, setting a goal of going bogey-free, which he did. 

Win No.32: At the 2002 US Open, you took control with two brilliant rounds. You led by three heading into the weekend. What was your 36-hole total?

A. 134

B. 138

C. 137

D. 135

“I was the only guy who finished under par. I’m gonna say five-under.”

Bethpage Black played to a par 70 that week. Five-under is correct. By following his Masters win with a victory at Bethpage, Woods generated considerable Grand Slam talk. No one had won the first two Majors of the year since Jack Nicklaus in 1972.

Win No.35: In 2003, you returned from offseason knee surgery to win the Buick Invitational. Carl Pettersson finished second. How many shots did you win by?

A. 3

B. 4

C. 1

D. 5

“The final group that day was Phil, me and Brad Faxon. No idea how much I won by. Dude! I won by enough. It was enough.”

Win No.39 came at one of Woods’ favourite courses, Torrey Pines. It was the first of five victories in 2003, though he failed to win a Major. 

Win No.54: You won the 2006 WGC–American Express Championships by eight shots over Ian Poulter and Adam Scott. Where did that tournament take place?

A. The Grove

B. Harding Park

C. Doral

D. Capital City

“That tournament moved around. I beat Vijay up in Atlanta. I won in Ireland. I won in England. Then they moved it to Valderrama, won it there. Then Doral. How’s that? Pretty good.”

The tournament most recently known as the WGC–Mexico Championship kept on moving around in the 2000s, and Woods kept winning it. Tiger won six of the first eight editions of the tournament
at six different courses, though his sequencing is a bit off: It went to Valderrama in Spain, then Mount Juliet in Ireland, then Capital City outside Atlanta, then Harding Park in San Francisco, then The Grove in England, then Doral in Florida. 

Win No.65: At the 2008 US Open, an 18-hole playoff wasn’t enough to settle things between you and Rocco Mediate. It went to an extra hole when you finally won. What score did you make on the par-5 18th hole during Monday’s playoff?

A. 3

B. 4

C. 5

D. 6

“I hit a 4-iron into the centre
of the green and two-putted [for birdie]. He made par.”

Perhaps the signature win of his career, Woods found a way at Torrey Pines despite playing on a badly injured leg, making a 12-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to force Monday’s playoff. Both players shot 71, and then Woods parred the first sudden-death playoff hole to win. This was Woods’ 14th Major-championship victory and his last before an 11-year drought ended at Augusta National in April 2019.

 Win No.66: You holed a birdie putt on the 72nd hole of the 2009 Arnold Palmer Invitational for a one-shot victory, your first since reconstructive knee surgery after the 2008 US Open. Who finished second?

A. Justin Rose

B. Zach Johnson

C. Sean O’Hair

D. Bart Bryant

Woods wouldn’t let me read the options. He wanted to remember this one on his own. After a few seconds, he replied, “Sean O’Hair”.

No hole has delivered as much drama in Woods’ career as the finisher at Bay Hill. A year after dropping a 24-footer to beat Bart Bryant, Woods made another winning birdie at 18 right in front of host Arnold Palmer. It completed a comeback from five shots down to begin the day. 

Win No.70: At the 2009 WGC–Bridgestone Invitational, you hit a shot to six inches on the 16th hole on Sunday to cap a come-from-behind victory over Padraig Harrington. What club did you hit?

A. 9-iron

B. 7-iron

C. 5-iron

D. 8-iron

“It was like 180 yards. We were on the clock. That’s what put off Harrington; he had to play quickly and made a mistake.”

Woods is correct in recalling his fifth victory of a six-win 2009. Harrington hit a flop shot into the water down the stretch to help seal Woods’ fourth straight victory at Firestone and seventh overall at the site. At that point, Woods had won 16 of his 30 starts in World Golf Championship events. 

You won your record-tying 82nd PGA Tour event in October 2019 at the Zozo Championship, a three-shot victory over Hideki Matsuyama. What was your winning score in relation to par?

A. -14

B. -16

C. -19

D. -17

“I won by two. I don’t remember the winning score, but I know I won by two.”

Woods actually won by three for his first PGA Tour victory in Japan. Coming off a three-month absence for knee surgery, Woods began with a pair of 64s and led the rest of the way. 

Woods answered 7 of 10 questions correctly, and even the ones he got “wrong”, he had no issue talking in detail about the tournament. Perhaps this shouldn’t be surprising. When contending, Woods is so invested in the task that the memories remain vivid all this time later. But Woods’ phrasing made one other thing clear: he largely viewed Sunday afternoons as a head-to-head competition against the other player challenging for the title. He said numerous times, “I beat Player X”. Reading between the lines, Woods likes to reduce the 140-odd man tournament to a personal battle against the player in second, or the player he’s chasing. Beat him, the thinking goes, and I win the tournament.  

 He beat him – 82 times.