British Open: Ranking the 25 most dominant performances of all time
By Bill Felber
16. Tiger Woods, 2005, -2.91
The 2005 British Open was made memorable even before it began by Jack Nicklaus’ announcement that it would be his final British Open appearance. Then after Nicklaus left the stage, having failed to make the cut, Woods made it even more memorable by capping his second Open win.
The first had also come at St. Andrews in 2000, so the 2005 victory put Woods in select company. He became only the fifth player to win two Opens at the Old Course, joining Bob Martin, J.H. Taylor, James Braid and Nicklaus.
Woods dominated the play, virtually putting the tournament away with a 66-67 start. That gave him a four-shot advantage over Colin Montgomerie. His Saturday 71 allowed Jose Maria Olazabal to close within two strokes. But given Woods’ record of never having lost a 54-hole lead in a major, the assumption – correct as it turns out – was that the tournament was already over.
His final round 70 made the final margin five strokes over Montgomerie.
He was only the sixth player to win by leading after every round, following Ted Ray, Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen, Henry Cotton and Tom Weiskopf.
The victory completed a second career Grand Slam for Woods, and gave him 10 major titles, more than anybody except for Nicklaus and Walter Hagen. “It’s a dream come true,” the new champion remarked afterward.