Tiger Woods has shared why his 2000 Open Championship win holds a different place in his career compared to all his other victories.
It was at St Andrews, during the 2000 season, that Woods completed the Career Grand Slam by winning The Open. That win also marked the second stage of what would eventually be called The Tiger Slam.
Woods arrived on the course fresh off a historic 15-shot victory at Pebble Beach in the US Open. It was one of the most dominant displays golf had ever seen.
But according to the American legend himself, what happened next may have been even more important than his memorable performance in California.
Tiger Woods looks back on his win at the 2000 Open Championship
Woods won by eight shots in Scotland, taking control during the second round and never giving it up. Ernie Els finished second once again, having also been runner-up at Pebble Beach earlier that year.
And in an interview with Jordan Spieth on Golf Channel, Woods spoke about how his performance at The Open felt like the most complete of his career.
He said: “I get chills, winning the Career Grand Slam at St Andrews, at The Home of Golf is as good as it gets. I happened to win both Opens that year at two iconic courses, Pebble Beach and St Andrews.
“I had it on a string. There are certain times I really played well. ’97 at The Masters, on the back nine after the first nine holes where I shot 40. That week at St Andrews, I felt like I had it on a string. Whatever shot I wanted to play, I could play. Whatever trajectory, whatever window I saw, I hit. I could hit it to 56 feet because I knew I was going to lag it down to a foot.
“Everything was on a string, from tee to green. And I’ve never had any other tournament like that.
“I had days in which I could do whatever I wanted to do with the golf ball and shot low scores. Over four days, I didn’t have it like that. Nothing was like that. Not even Pebble in 2000 was like that. I had every shot on a string, and it just happened to be at St Andrews.”
How Ernie Els responded to finishing runner-up to Tiger Woods at St Andrews
Few would disagree that the level of golf Woods displayed during that period was among the best ever seen.
Winning at both Pebble Beach and St Andrews by a combined 23 shots is something you do not see often. It makes sense then that Woods felt he had never had more control over his game than he did that week at The Old Course.
After finishing second, Els spoke about how difficult it was to compare his game to what Woods was doing.
“Even if I really played as good as I could I don’t think I would have got to 20 under like Tiger,” he stated (via BBC Sport).
“I’m playing a different tournament. I play the regular tour event and Tiger plays his own event.”
“It is incredible to watch a guy play so much better than the rest of the world and it is tough to sit down and talk about him every time. I might have to get used to it but that’s the way it goes.”
The sport did not see another major winner until nearly a year later, when Retief Goosen claimed the US Open at Southern Hills.
Els would eventually lift the Claret Jug himself just one year later.
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