6. 16th hole, Pebble Beach Golf Links
Final round of the 2000 U.S. Open
In what Phil Mickelson called the greatest performance in golf of all time, Woods, at the zenith of his powers and playing his 100th tournament as a pro in the 100th edition of the U.S. Open, won his first national title by a record 15 shots.
He was the only player to finish under par (12 under, by the way), set records for the largest lead after 36 holes (six shots) and 54 holes (10 shots), had zero three-putts and made 21 birdies during rounds of 65-69-71-67.
But it was a par that stirred him. When he got to the tee at the 16th hole on the final day, he could have finished with a triplet’s worth of quadruple-bogeys and still been three clear of the field at the end. Still, he was a bit steamed after three poor shots left him with a 15-footer for par. He knocked it in dead center and unleashed his most emphatic fist pump of the day.
That putt, that moment, provided another glimpse into the soul of the man.
“The thing is, I worked so hard to not make a bogey in the final round,” Woods said. “When I got to 16 and had that 15-footer, that was all I was thinking about. Bury it. Don’t make a bogey. Do what you set out to do. And I buried it. And I did the fist pump because to me, that putt, that par, meant so much. That putt meant more to me than people might think.”
NBC on-course analyst Roger Maltbie interviewed Woods shortly after the win.
“That’s what he was fired up about – saving a par,” Maltbie said. “He thought differently, he played differently, he executed better.”
He certainly did. The win was the first leg of his Tiger Slam that is unparalleled.