Tiger Woods is one of the greatest golfers in history. During his career, he has won 82 times on the PGA Tour, collecting 15 majors.
This includes five Masters, four PGA Championships, three US Opens and three Open Championships. His injury issues and personal problems looked like ending his career in the mid-2010’s, but Woods came back and completed one of the greatest comebacks in sport, winning his fifth Masters title in 2019 at the age of 43.
Woods announced himself to the world of professional golf in 1997, winning the Masters by a record-breaking 12 strokes at the age of 21. From 1999 to 2010, he was a dominant force in the sport, winning 13 major championships during this time. Woods’ 82 PGA Tour wins have only been matched by Sam Snead. If he can somehow return to action and win another event, he will top the all-time list for wins on the PGA Tour. Time is running out for the ‘Big Cat’, but he will be determined to defy the odds once again.
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The American revolutionsed the game, combining his long-game prowess with extreme mental fortitude and clutch putting in key moments. In an interview with GolfTV in May 2020, Woods was asked who the best player he competed against during his career was. The 15-time Grand Slam champion replied with two household names, who both had huge impacts on the sport.
Woods has had many rivalries during his time as a professional. David Duval was one of the best players on the PGA Tour in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The American won 13 times on the tour between 1997 and 2001, including the Open Championship in 2001, which saw him win by three shots at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club.
The 49-year-old is also one of six male players who have achieved the Career Grand Slam. Rory McIlroy is the only member of the Career Grand Slam club that Woods has competed regularly against. The pair played with each other in the final round of the 2018 Tour Championship, with Woods finishing ahead of the Northern Irishman to win his first tournament in five years. Despite facing off against the likes of McIlroy, Woods admitted that there were two other stars who caused him the biggest trouble.
| Tiger Woods’ Best Results at Majors | |
|---|---|
| Competition | Best result |
| Masters | W (1997, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2019) |
| PGA Championship | W (1999, 2000, 2006, 2007) |
| US Open | W (2000, 2002, 2008) |
| The Open | W (2000, 2005, 2006) |
Woods named Phil Mickelson as one of the two best players he has faced during his career. Mickelson is a golfing maverick, with 45 PGA Tour wins, including six majors. His most recent major victory came at the PGA Championship, when he was 50, meaning he became the oldest major championship winner in history. He has come agonisingly close to joining the Career Grand Slam club throughout his career, but the US Open has always eluded him. The short game magician has finished second six times in his National Open.
The 55-year-old’s flamboyant style, which included erratic driving and miraculous recovery shots, meant that he was one of the most popular players on the PGA Tour in the 2000s and 2010s. However, in 2022, Mickelson joined the controversial LIV Golf tour, meaning he was suspended from the PGA Tour indefinitely.
| Phil Mickelson’s Best Results at Majors | |
|---|---|
| Competition | Best result |
| Masters | W (2004, 2006, 2010) |
| PGA Championship | W (2005, 2021) |
| US Open | T2/2nd (1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2013) |
| The Open | W (2013) |
The other man Woods name-checked, was Vijay Singh. The Fijian international won three major championships during his career. This included the Masters in 2000, which saw Singh beat Ernie Els by three strokes, while Woods was six behind the eventual champion.
His two other major triumphs came at the PGA Championship. The first of these was in 1998 and the second was in 2004. Singh dramatically beat Chris DiMarco and Justin Leonard in a play-off to secure his third and final major title. Singh’s 2004 season was particularly impressive. He won nine times on the PGA Tour, becoming the number one-ranked golfer in the world. This put him ahead of Woods, who had held the title for six consecutive years.
Singh’s consistent ball striking and power off the tee gave him a significant advantage over his opponents, helping him reach the pinnacle of the sport. He ended his career with 34 PGA Tour wins and a spot in the World Golf Hall of Fame.
| Vijay Singh’s Best Results at Majors | |
|---|---|
| Competition | Best result |
| Masters | W (2000) |
| PGA Championship | W (1998, 2004) |
| US Open | T3 (1999) |
| The Open | T2 (2003) |
Speaking to McNamara in 2020, Woods explained why Mickelson and Singh were the two best players he faced during his career. The 49-year-old said:
“I would have to say it’s either Phil [Mickelson] or Vijay [Singh].
“Those two have won a lot of tournaments and they were so hard to beat in different ways.
“Phil didn’t hit the ball as well as Vijay but his short game was off the charts.
“Vijay hit it better, put a lot of pressure on you, but his short game – his chipping was awesome but he didn’t putt as well as Phil did.
“Those guys kept putting themselves there and I loved it. I loved the challenge of it. Phil and I and Vijay went at it for the better part of 15 years and it’s been a lot of fun.”
