Tiger Woods was absolutely on an entirely different level from the rest of the field throughout the 2000 PGA Tour season. Tiger won a tour-leading nine times in 2000, including the final three majors of the season. The way he won these majors was nothing short of miraculous. Tiger proved his sheer dominance by winning the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach by a jaw-dropping 15 strokes. He did so once again in the next major, winning the British Open at St. Andrews by eight strokes. In the final major of the year, Tiger proved he could win in the clutch by defeating Bob May in a playoff, taking home the PGA Championship trophy from Valhalla Gold Club. Tiger was locked in all season, as he finished top five in 17 of his 20 events. This display of superiority gave birth to the saying, “Tiger vs. the field.” And although there were many good golfers on the PGA Tour at this time, it really began to look like such. For some context, Tiger took home 63% of the potential purse money available to him at the start of the season. This is a number that will most likely never be topped.
So what do the statistics say about Tiger’s incredible season? How truly dominant was he? And would 2000 Tiger Woods be as dominant on today’s tour against today’s stars?
Season Averages
In the table below are some statistics for Tiger’s 2000 season compared with the tour averages, and where Tiger ranks among the field, for both 2000 and 2017.
As we can see, Tiger was the second longest driver on tour in 2000 at 298 yards per drive. However, this number would rank Tiger tied for 54th on the 2017 PGA Tour. This shows how much further the average player can drive the golf ball today. On the contrary, however, Tiger’s 71.22% driving accuracy landed him just 54th in 2000, but would place him at sixth best on the 2017 Tour. Players today are driving the ball much further than in the past, but at the cost of accuracy. Furthermore, Tiger’s 75.15% Greens In Regulation percentage blows away the competition in both 2000 (65.02%) and 2017 (64.94%). Tiger was also the best at shooting holes under par frequently. In 2000, Tiger averaged an astounding 4.92 birdies per round, while the average on tour was 3.38 in 2000 and 3.47 in 2017. His remarkable birdie per round rate would’ve landed him the number one spot on tour in both 2000 and 2017. Likewise, Tiger’s holes per eagle rate was the best in both 2000 and 2017. He managed to shoot, on average, one eagle for every 72 holes. The average in 2000 being one every 268.7 holes and the average in 2017 being one every 224.7 holes.
Scoring Averages by Round
The table below shows Tiger’s scoring averages by round for the 2000 season and compares them with the tour averages in both 2000 and 2017.
I cannot think of any statistics more telling of Tiger’s dominance than the ones listed above. Tiger averaged a 69.11 Round 1 score in 2000, a score landing him first in 2000 and third in 2017. He then averaged a 67.53 Round 2 score, placing him first in both 2000 and 2017. Next, he averaged a 67.63 Round 3 score, ranking first in both 2000 and 2017. Finally, he averaged a 68.42 Round 4 score, which would put him first in 2000 and second best in 2017. Tiger simply dominated every round. To no surprise, Tiger led the Tour in 2000 with a scoring average of 67.794. This not only was the lowest scoring average in 2000, but would have also been in 2017. In fact, no other golfer has come within a full shot of this scoring average since 2000, except for one man. Tiger Woods himself. Six times.
Averages by Hole
The table below breaks down Tiger’s incredible statistics to see how dominant he was on each type of hole.
Tiger’s average score on a Par 3 for the 2000 season was 2.91. This number would rank first among all players in both 2000 and 2017. On Par 4’s, Tiger averaged a 3.91. Once again, the best among the field for both seasons. Lastly, Tiger averaged a 4.37 on Par 5’s. And once again, this is the best for both years. Tiger scored a birdie or better on a Par 3 19.8% of the time in 2000. This number placed him second best on the Tour in 2000, and would put him at third in 2017. He also scored a birdie or better on 21.11% of all Par 4’s, ranking him first in 2000 and third in 2017. Finally, Tiger earned a birdie or better on 61.89% of all Par 5’s, placing him first in both 2000 and 2017.
The Greatest Season of All Time
In my opinion, these statistics prove that Tiger Woods in 2000 was the greatest golfer the PGA Tour has ever seen. He dominated the field in every category, especially scoring, and most of his jaw-dropping numbers would still rank first on today’s tour. We may never see another golfer dominate the PGA Tour for an entire season the way Tiger Woods did in 2000.
Sources
golfweek.com
www.golf.com
About the Author
Connor just completed his sophomore year at Purdue University, where he is pursuing a double major in actuarial sciences and applied statistics, with a minor in management. He has had a passion for both sports and statistics since a very young age, and enjoys discovering all the new information statistics can give us about sports. LinkedIn
