Tiger Woods' 3 British Open Wins

Tiger Woods burst onto the professional PGA Tour in 1996 when he took home the title of Rookie of the Year before winning his first major championship the following year at the 1997 Masters, becoming the tournament's youngest champion at 21 years old.

Over the course of his career, he has won a 2nd-highest record total of 79 PGA Tour wins, including 14 major championship victories, but he has also had great success on the British and international stages, including at the annual British Open.

Read on to discover the story behind each of his three British Open victories, starting with his first in 2000 and his most recent in 2006.

01

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Tiger Woods Wins the 2000 British Open

Tiger Woods of the USA in action during the final round of the 2000 British Open Championship. Andrew Redington / Getty Images

His victory at the 2000 British Open took place on The Old Course at St. Andrews, and it was the second major in Tiger Woods' "Tiger Slam" stretch of 2000-2001 when he held all four major championships at the same time.

Woods' first Open Championship victory came with relative ease, as Woods maneuvered his way around the Old Course displaying both the power and finesse for which his game is so noted. Woods led by six after the third round and was never really challenged in the final round, eventually winning by eight strokes.

Woods' win here is often noted for the fact that Tiger did not have to play a single bunker shot over all four rounds. Staying away from the Old Course bunkers is critical; Woods did that perfectly and won easily.

Top 5 at the 2000 British Open

Tiger Woods, 67-66-67-69—269
Thomas Bjorn, 69-69-68-71—277
Ernie Els, 66-72-70-69—277
Tom Lehman, 68-70-70-70—278
David Toms, 69-67-71-71—278
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02

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Tiger Woods' 2005 British Open

Tiger Woods lifts the Claret Jug after winning the 2005 British Open Golf Championship. Pete Fontaine / Getty Images

Another Open Championship at St. Andrews, another win for Tiger Woods, this victory was the 10th major championship win of Woods' career. Only Jack Nicklaus and Walter Hagen had previously reached double digits in majors (plus Bobby Jones, when his amateur majors have counted along with his wins in professional majors).

And speaking of Hagen, this was also Woods' 44th career victory overall, which tied Woods with Hagen on the all-time wins list.

With this win, Woods now had two British Open titles at St. Andrews, just like his childhood idol Nicklaus. And the 2005 British Open was Nicklaus' final appearance in this championship.

Top 5 at the 2005 British Open

Tiger Woods, 66-67-71-70—274
Colin Montgomerie, 71-66-70-72—279
Jose Maria Olazabal, 68-70-68-74—280
Fred Couples, 68-71-73-68—280
Retief Goosen, 68-73-66-74—281
Sergio Garcia, 70-69-69-73—281
Vijay Singh, 69-69-71-72—281
Michael Campbell, 69-72-68-72—281
Bernhard Langer, 71-69-70-71—281
Geoff Ogilvy, 71-74-67-69—281

03

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Tiger Woods Wins the 2006 British Open

Tiger Woods at 135th Open Championship — Stuart Franklin / Getty Images

Tiger Woods' win in 2006 was a thinking man's win: On the crispy fairways at Royal Liverpool, Woods had no need to hit with a driver, he could get plenty of distance off the tee with a 2-iron (and an occasional 3-wood) and better control his ball.

So throughout the 2006 British Open, Woods used his driver only once, and that was on Day 1.

As he did at the 2005 Masters, Chris DiMarco provided the greatest challenge to Woods, hanging with Tiger most of the final round and coming within a stroke of the lead after the 13th hole. But Woods, playing steadily and methodically, was not to be caught.

In the end, it was a very emotional win for Woods. He was congratulated and comforted on the final green by caddie Steve Williams. Woods choked up at the moment — it was his first major win since the death of his father.

Top 5 at the 2006 British Open

Tiger Woods, 67-65-71-67—270
Chris DiMarco, 70-65-69-68—272
Ernie Els, 68-65-71-71—275
Jim Furyk, 68-71-66-71—276
Sergio Garcia, 68-71-65-73—277
Hideto Tanihara, 72-68-66-71—277
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