Dominance: The best of Tiger Woods

2. 2000 British Open

The world’s best players gathered at the world’s most hallowed spot to contest the world’s most renowned golf championship.

And then Tiger Woods showed up and reduced the whole question to “who’s going to finish second?”

Coming off his attention-getting victory a month earlier at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, Woods attacked St. Andrews in his first Open appearance there as a pro. His Thursday 67 left him in a tie for second one stroke behind Ernie Els, but that didn’t last long. On Friday Woods backed up his 67 with a 66 to lead David Toms by three.

Els, on a 72, fell into a tie for sixth, five strokes behind.

With a relentlessness of purpose that was already becoming his trademark, Woods continued the assault on Saturday. His 67 was only the day’s second best round – David Duval shot 66. But Duval had started seven strokes behind, so Woods walked off the course Saturday night six ahead of Duval and Thomas Bjorn.

With nothing but history to chase Saturday, cemented his legacy. His five-stroke lead at day’s start became six at the fourth hole, rising to six at the turn and finally settling at eight.

Bjorn and Els had the honor, if one could call it that, of finishing second to Woods’ 269, a score that translated to 3.33 standard deviations better than the 285.16 field average.

At  the time he shot it, Woods’ showing stood as the second most dominant in the storied history of the event, surpassed only Tom Watson’s memorable duel with Jack Nicklaus at Turnberry in 1977. Since 2000, Shane Lowry (2019), Henrik Stenson (2016) and Louis Oosthuizen (20210) have posted greater standard deviations from the field average.