On Dec. 30, Tiger Woods turns 50 years old. To honor the moment, and Woods's life and career, SI Golf is looking back at all of it and ranking his top 50 defining moments—including incredible triumphs and big business deals, on-course defeats, injuries and, yes, even the scandals.
Last week we unveiled Part 1 and Part 2 of our series. Today we continue with more highs and lows from a golf life and career like no other. Here's Nos. 30-21 on our list.
No. 30: Marries Elin Nordegren in 2004
Woods first met Nordegren when she was working in Florida as a nanny for Jesper Parnevik’s family. Nordegren was reportedly at first hesitant to date Woods, but the couple got together and Woods married the then-24-year-old on Oct. 4, 2004.
The couple had two children—daughter Sam and a son named Charlie—and for a time it seemed to the outside world like a fairytale romance and family life. What could possibly go wrong? Well … we know the answer. The couple divorced in 2010 shortly after Woods’s many extramarital affairs became public and were splashed across the tabloids for several weeks. The couple reportedly remain friendly today as they co-parent their kids. — Jeff Ritter
No. 29: Earns first pro victory at 1996 Las Vegas Invitational
In just this fifth start as a pro, Woods rallied in the final round Las Vegas tournament to tie Davis Love III, then defeated the veteran in a sudden-death playoff. Woods shot 27 under par for the event’s five days and captured the first of his 82 PGA Tour victories. He would go on to win just a few weeks later at the Disney World tournament. — Bob Harig
No. 28: Erases seven-shot deficit on back nine to win 2000 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
Seven down with seven holes to play during the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Tiger put together an epic rally that also led to his sixth straight PGA Tour victory, a streak that began at the end of 1999.
This Pebble event actually had a Monday finish, and for most of the day it seemed Woods’s win streak would come to an end. He trailed Matt Gogel by five strokes entering the final round and the deficit swelled to seven strokes through 11 holes. But when Woods holed a 56-degree wedge shot from 97 yards at the par-4 15th for an eagle, it was game on. He added another birdie at the 16th hole, parred the 17th and then birdied the 18th for a final-round 64. Gogel still had a chance to tie him with a 10-foot birdie putt at 18, but he ended up three-putting to share second place with Vijay Singh, two shots back. — Bob Harig
No. 27: Wins 2006 PGA Championship by five shots
This started as a tough year for Woods. He dearly wanted to win the Masters—where he tied for third—knowing that his dad, Earl, was very ill. Earl Woods passed away in May and for the first time, Tiger missed the cut at a major championship as a pro at the U.S. Open.
He rebounded with an emotional victory at the British Open (more on that coming soon in our countdown) and then headed to the PGA Championship at Medinah, where in 1999 he won his second major in a duel with Sergio Garcia—which will also appear in this countdown shortly.
From the start at Medinah, it was clear Woods was on his game. Through two rounds he was one shot out of the lead. A third-round 65 put him two ahead of Luke Donald and Woods cruised on Sunday to a five-shot victory over Shaun Micheel. It was Woods’s second major of the year and 12th overall, and sixth victory of the year. This win also landed in the midst of a five-tournament winning streak. — Bob Harig
No. 26: Wins 2007 PGA Championship by two shots
Woods has won 15 major titles but they don’t all feature theatrics or dominance, like others coming soon to our list. So like the 2006 PGA Championship that he won a year earlier, the 2007 lands near the bottom of his list of major triumphs.
What made this one special? In his two-stroke victory over Woody Austin, Woods had to withstand sweltering heat at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Okla., with the heat index climbing to 108 degrees. There was also some pressure to win because if Woods didn’t, it would be the first year since 2004 that he wouldn’t have claimed at least one major title. But most of all, it was Woods’s first major as a father, with his daughter, Sam, born in June. “This one feels so much more special than the other majors,” Woods said after. — Max Schreiber
No. 25: The ‘Shot in the Dark’ at 2000 NEC Invitational
Crazy to rank this moment ahead of two major wins? We feel this particular shot gets replayed far more often in the Woods career reel than those two PGAs, but that’s what makes our list ripe for debate.
At the 2000 World Golf Championship event at Firestone, a rain delay left time running out on the final round. The outcome was not in doubt: Woods had a commanding lead. On the final hole, Woods chose an 8-iron from 167 yards, and he hit what came to be known as his “shot in the dark” as lighters and flashlights dotted the green around 18th hole. His ball stopped 2 feet from the cup to set up a final birdie and an eye-popping 11-shot win in the midst of his most dominant season. This victory came a week after Woods had won his third straight major at the PGA Championship. — Bob Harig
No. 24: Wins 2018 Tour Championship for 80th PGA Tour title
In his 18th tournament of 2018, Woods won for the first time in five years, playing the final round at East Lake in Atlanta alongside Rory McIlroy. In the end it was an emotional scene, as thousands of spectators swarmed around Woods as he walked the last part of the 18th hole, where a par meant a two-shot victory over Billy Horschel.
Woods had contended several times over the course of the year, but this was his first win since his 2017 spinal fusion surgery. It was his 80th on the PGA Tour and first since the 2013 WGC Invitational. He had been ranked 1,199 in the Official World Golf Ranking a year earlier and with this victory he rose to No. 13. — Bob Harig
No. 23: Wins 2022 Masters
For the first time since 1990, a Masters champion defended his title, with Tiger shooting a 1-under-par 71 in the final round to capture his third Masters and seventh major title. It was his first major triumph since he completed the Tiger Slam a year earlier at Augusta, and he had to overcome Retief Goosen, who was tied with him for the 54-hole lead, as well as pursuers Vijay Singh, Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia. Phil Mickelson also made a Sunday move and his final-round 68 earned him a share of third place. It was the first of Woods's two major titles that year. — Bob Harig
No. 22: The Mugshot
In the spring of 2017, Woods’s playing career was not in a great place. He was in the midst of missing eight straight majors due to injury and was fresh off a spinal fusion surgery in London one month earlier.
On May 29, 2017, he was found asleep at the wheel and parked on the side of a highway in Palm Beach County, Fla. He was charged with driving under the influence, improper parking and failing a field sobriety test. Woods said he had an unexpected reaction to his prescribed medications. The mugshot following his arrest, where Woods appears disheveled and glassy-eyed, was splashed around the world. — Jeff Ritter
Tiger Woods mugshot. #Tigerwoods #Mugshot pic.twitter.com/VPRt13hRT6
— JunkVader 😱 (@Hjallis4) September 6, 2023
No. 21: Aces par-3 16th hole at 1997 Phoenix Open
The towering grandstands that now make the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale one of the most raucous places in golf did not yet exist, but it was still an electric location. There were about 15,000 spectators around the hole on a Saturday afternoon in 1997 and on the broadcast a commentator said, "They're gonna go nuts when he hits this thing." Truer words may have never been spoken on air, as Woods’s tee shot landed near the hole, took two quick hops and dropped, setting off pandemonium in Scottsdale. It was a 9-iron from 162 yards and you can make a case that it’s still the most-replayed iron shot he’s ever hit. — Bob Harig
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Tiger Woods Piles Up Major Titles and Hits Shots Still on Replay: A Top 50 Countdown.