British Open: Ranking the 25 most dominant performances of all time
By Bill Felber
23. Tiger Woods, 2006, -2.81
His 2006 British Open victory was the third, and to this point last, of Woods’ career. It is a testament to his greatness that all three rank among the 25 most dominant performances in tournament history.
Woods came to Hoylake as the defending champion and, naturally, the favorite. Rounds of 67 and 65 positioned him in the lead, but his advantage was just one stroke ahead of Chris DiMarco, Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia. DiMarco’s performance echoed his pursuit of Woods one year earlier at the 2005 Masters.
His Friday round was highlighted by a stunning eagle two at the long par 4 14th, holing out from 209 yards.
On Sunday, DiMarco pulled within one stroke of Woods through 13 holes. Then Woods ratified the victory with a three-hole stretch of birdies on the 14th, 15th and 16th to open a three-shot lead. It added up to a closing 67, two strokes better than DiMarco with Els three more strokes behind.
The outcome marked the 11th time Woods had entered the final round of a major championship with the lead or a share of it, and ran his record in those circumstances to 11-0. It also made Woods the first player to successfully defend his title since Tom Watson had done so in 1983.