1. Tiger Woods, 2000, Pebble Beach, -4.34
The history of men’s major tournament golf extends 160 years and encompasses about 460 competitions. None exceeds Woods’ 2000 U.S. Open showing for sheer dominance.
And it’s not close. Woods’ 12-under par on wind-swept the par 71 Pebble Beach course was 15 strokes superior to any of his fellow competitors. Measured against the 295.8 four-round average, it was 4.34* standard deviations superior. In the history of men’s majors, no other player has ever recorded a margin greater than 3.54 standard deviations better than the field average.
Woods shot an opening 65, and followed that with a Friday 69 that expanded his margin to six strokes.
In brutal playing conditions Saturday, Woods managed an even par 71 that enabled him to expand his lead to 10 strokes. He closed with a 67.
“When he’s on, we don’t have much of a chance,” remarked Ernie Els, who tied Miguel Angel Jimenez for runner-up. He added that “before we went out, I knew I had no chance.”
For his part, Woods treated the victory as if it had been routine. “The only thing I know is I got the trophy sitting right next to me,” he told reporters.