Tiger Woods' US Open Wins, Records and Yearly Scores

Tiger Woods holds his trophy after defeating Rocco Mediate in the playoff at the 2008 U.S. Open golf tournament.

Robyn Beck / AFP / Getty Images

By
Brent Kelley
Brent Kelley
Brent Kelley is an award-winning sports journalist and golf expert with over 30 years in print and online journalism.
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Updated on 10/28/19

Tiger Woods is one of the best golfers ever, arguably the greatest of all-time. But how good has he been in one specific major championship, the U.S. Open? Pretty good! Wood's record in this tournament was consistently good (and frequently great) for much of his career. In recent years, however, injuries have curtailed his participation.

Key Takeaways

  • Tiger Woods has won three U.S. Open tournaments, in 2000, 2002 and 2008. The 2008 victory was via playoff.
  • Woods has numerous other high finishes, including several runners-up, third places and other Top 10s.
  • He has set multiple tournament records, some that have since been broken (such as lowest 72-hole stroke total and most strokes under par) and others he still holds (such as largest margin of victory).

Woods' Wins in the U.S. Open

2000

Tiger Woods' first U.S. Open victory was arguably the best performance by a golfer in major championship history. If it's not No. 1, it's very, very close.

Woods dominated Pebble Beach and the field. His lead after the first round was one; after the second round, six; after the third round, 10. And he finished with a 15-stroke margin of victory (the distant runners-up were Ernie Els and Miguel Angel Jimenez).

Tiger was the only player who finished the tournament under par, and he was 12-under par. This victory started Woods' "Tiger Slam" streak of winning four consecutive majors.

2002

Woods bogeyed two of the final three holes, but it didn't matter. He still captured his second title in this tournament, doing it at Bethpage Black in New York.

Woods led by four entering the final round, and none of the chasers could mount a sustained challenge. Phil Mickelson played well the final day, with a 70, and got within two strokes midway through the final nine, but wound up second, three strokes behind.

Once again, Woods was the only golfer who finished the tournament under par. U.S. Open trophy No. 2 for Woods came, just as his first had, via a wire-to-wire victory.

2008

Woods took a one-stroke lead into the final round at Torrey Pines, where he had previously won six other PGA Tour events. But journeyman Rocco Mediate wouldn't go away. In fact, Mediate had a one-stroke lead over Woods as Woods reached the final hole of regulation. But Woods rolled in a birdie putt to tie Mediate and force an 18-hole playoff.

In the playoff, Mediate again wouldn't go away. He and Woods see-sawed the lead several times during the playoff. Tiger twice took a 3-stroke lead, but Mediate came back to tie each time.

Again, they were tied at the end of regulation, and so continued to a 19th hole. And that's where Woods finally won, with a par on the first sudden-death hole.

A few days later it was revealed that Woods had been playing with a torn ACL ligament and stress fractures in his right leg. He underwent season-ending surgery shortly thereafter.

Tournament Records and Achievements

Woods' win in 2000 was record-setting in several ways. That year, he tied or broke the tournament records for largest 36-hole lead (six strokes), 54-hole lead (10) and winning margin (15). That 15-stroke margin of victory is tied for second-largest in PGA Tour history.

Tiger's winning score of 272 in 2000 tied the then-tournament scoring record, and his 12-under score in relation to par established a new mark. By finishing at 12-under, Woods became the first golfer in U.S. Open history to finish double-digits under par.

His 2000 and 2002 wins were both wire-to-wire, making Woods the sixth golfer in tournament history to lead start-to-finish — but the first (and so far only) to do it twice.

By winning in 2000, Woods became the 11th golfer to win both the U.S. Amateur Championship and the U.S. Open. He was the first to join that list since 1976, and remains the most-recent.

He is also the only golfer ever to win all three of the U.S. Junior Amateur, U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open.

Woods' three wins in the U.S. Open is tied for second-most all-time; his six Top 3 finishes is tied for sixth-best all-time.

Tiger's Year-by-Year Scores in the U.S. Open

Tiger Woods played in the U.S. Open twice before turning pro. His amateur years and finishes:

  • 1995: 74-85—159 (+19), withdrew
  • 1996: 76-69-77-72—294 (+14), tied 82nd

Woods turned pro following the 1996 U.S. Open, which was his final tournament as an amateur golfer. These are his scores and finishes in the U.S. Open as a pro:

  • 1997: 74-67-73-72—286 (+6), tied 19th
  • 1998: 74-72-71-73—290 (+10), tied 18th
  • 1999: 68-71-72-70—281 (+1), tied third
  • 2000: 65-69-71-67—272 (-12), won
  • 2001: 74-71-69-69—283 (+3), tied 12th
  • 2002: 67-68-70-72—277 (-3), won
  • 2003: 70-66-75-72—283 (+3), tied 20th
  • 2004: 72-69-73-76—290 (+10), tied 17th
  • 2005: 70-71-72-69—282 (+2), second
  • 2006: 76-76—152 (+12), missed cut
  • 2007: 71-74-69-72—286 (+6), tied second
  • 2008: 72-68-70-73—283 (-1), won
  • 2009: 74-69-68-69—280 (E), tied sixth
  • 2010: 74-72-66-75—287 (+3), tied fourth
  • 2011: did not play
  • 2012: 69-70-75-73—287 (+7), tied 21st
  • 2013: 73-70-76-74—293 (+13), tied 32nd
  • 2014: did not play
  • 2015: 80-76—156 (+16), missed cut
  • 2016: did not play
  • 2017: did not play
  • 2018: 78-72—150 (+10), missed cut
  • 2019: 70-72-71-69—282 (-2), tied 21st