PGA TOUR: Ranking the five greatest individual seasons of all time

Why it’s the best season in history: With Hogan in 1953, Woods is the only player  ever to win three majors in the same season.  Following a fifth place finish behind Vijay Singh at Augusta, he famously routed the field in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, finishing a record 15 strokes in front.

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His 272 total was 24 strokes better than the four-round field average, creating a -4.12 standard deviation that is the most exceptional in the nearly 160-year history of any men’s major championship tournament.

From there, Woods added the British Open by eight strokes and the PGA Championship in a playoff with Bob May – after they both beat the field by five. In sum, save for May, Woods destroyed the field in three of the world’s most important golf events by 28 strokes. The average standard deviation of his performance in the majors alone was -2.77, again the best in major tournament history.

Woods won nine of his 20 PGA Tour starts, placing second four times and third once. He finished out of the top 10 only three times. The average standard deviation of his season-long performance was -1.70, slightly behind Nelson in 1945 and farther behind Hogan in 1953, but well ahead of either Nicklaus in 1972 or Palmer in 1960.

What can be said against it:  Woods’ season can only be criticized by comparison. Like Nicklaus in 1972, he had his occasional moments of normality. In the Western Open, he managed only an inglorious and uncharacteristic tie for 23rd, seven shots out of the lead. On average, he was not as dominant as either Nelson in 1945 or Hogan in 1953.

So if you’re unwilling to look beyond the diminished level of Nelson’s competition or Hogan’s sparse schedule, Woods’ season may fall behind one or both of them. Still, it’s hard to envision anybody being quite as dominant as young Tiger was at the turn of the 21st century.