At age 18, Tiger rallied several times at the U.S. Amateur, including coming from 6 holes down in the 36-hole final to defeat Trip Kuehne at TPC Sawgrass. It was his first of three U.S. Amateur victories. Earlier in the tournament, he had to rally on the back nine to defeat former U.S. Open champion Buddy Alexander, who was then the University of Florida golf coach. \u2014 Bob Harig<\/p>\n
In what still remains the best head-to-head duel of their careers, Woods and Mickelson were paired together during the final round of the 2005 Ford Championship at Doral. It turned out to be an epic encounter that lived up to the hype, with Woods starting the final round two strokes back. <\/p>\n
The atmosphere was electric as both players battled into the back nine. Woods pulled ahead with birdies on the 10th and 12th holes, but Mickelson then caught him and fell a shot behind when Woods birdied the 17th. At 18, Mickelson narrowly missed chipping in to tie, as Woods prevailed to regain the No. 1 ranking in the world. This was when Woods and Mickelson were in the midst of trading green jackets, as Tiger would prevail at Augusta National a month later. \u2014 Bob Harig<\/p>\n
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Woods and Mickelson went head-to-head on Sunday at Doral in 2005. \/ Matthew Stockman\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Late-career (and late-40s) Woods has seen him evolve from an all-time GOAT competitor capable of winning tournaments, including a Masters at age 42 (more on that in a future edition of our countdown) to an influential golf power broker. With his board appointment by former PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, Woods was given a seat at the table that is both metaphorical and literal, and he is now directly involved with helping the Tour sort through some significant issues. How will the Tour work together (or in opposition with) LIV Golf? How might the schedule change? How can it fit the vision of new Tour CEO Brian Rolapp? Woods may not be driving the bus, but his hands are firmly on the wheel. \u2014 Jeff Ritter<\/p>\n
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Woods and Monahan at the 2023 Genesis Invitational. \/ Cliff Hawkins\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
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Tiger Woods made a triumphant return at the 2012 Arnold Palmer Invitational. \/ Fred Vuich\/Sports Illustrated<\/p>\n
It was an eternity for Woods. He had not won an official Tour event since the 2009 BMW Championship, two months before news of his marital affairs created international headlines and ended his marriage (more on that later in our countdown). <\/p>\n
Coming to Bay Hill in 2012, there were concerns about Woods\u2019s physical health. Two weeks prior, he was taken off the course at Doral during the final round with tightness in his left Achilles tendon, the same injury that caused him to miss three months in 2011. But at Bay Hill he didn\u2019t suffer the same fate. Woods dominated the event, shooting 13-under 275 to beat Graeme McDowell by five strokes. It was his first victory in 923 days. \u2014 Max Schreiber<\/p>\n
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Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson lost twice on Day 1 of the 2004 Ryder Cup, which turned out to be a historic loss for the U.S. \/ Fred Vuich\/Sports Illustrated<\/p>\n
In truth, U.S. captain Hal Sutton\u2019s pairing of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson at Oakland Hills was at first well received\u2014before they bombed. Where it went wrong was after a 2-and-1 loss to Padraig Harrington and Colin Montgomerie in the first match of the Ryder Cup. Sutton put them together again for the afternoon foursomes session. Woods and Mickelson lost again, and the U.S. was down 6\u00bd to 1\u00bd to Europe after the first day. It went on to be a historic 18\u00bd to 9\u00bd U.S. defeat on home soil. <\/p>\n
The Woods-Mickelson pairing became the overriding story from that blowout loss. For all his individual accomplishments, Woods only played on one winning Ryder Cup team in his career and has a 13\u201321\u20133 record in eight appearances in the event. \u2014 Bob Harig<\/p>\n
At first you wondered if it was an April Fool\u2019s prank. On April 1, 2014, a news release stated that Woods had undergone back surgery and would miss the Masters for the first time. It turned out to be no joke\u2014golf writers learned how to spell microdiscectomy and that surgery kicked off a decade of back problems for Woods. He returned that June, which was probably too soon<\/a>. He played poorly<\/a> at that summer\u2019s British Open, withdrew with nine holes to play at the WGC Bridgestone and then missed the cut at the PGA. Woods\u2019s back would give him fits throughout another painful 2015. \u2014 Bob Harig<\/p>\n After missing the Masters, Woods was a shell of his usual self at the 2014 British Open. \/ Andrew Redington\/Getty Images<\/p>\n At the time, Tiger produced his worst 72-hole score at the 2022 Masters\u2014301, 13 over par. He finished tied for 47th, also his worst. And his Saturday and Sunday scores of 78 were also his worst in 94 Masters rounds. <\/p>\n But no matter. The fact that Woods played at all was a huge victory. <\/p>\n It was just 14 months after the horrific car crash of February 2021<\/a> that severely damaged his lower right leg and led to multiple surgeries. Woods walked with a noticeable limp and it was clear he was struggling. But it was Augusta and he was out there for four full rounds. \u2014 Bob Harig<\/p>\n Woods received a warm reception at the 2022 Masters. \/ Gregory Shamus\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Of course, 2022 wasn\u2019t Woods\u2019s only notable \u201creturn to golf at Augusta.\u201d With immense focus after being away from the game for more than four months due to the marital scandal that unfolded over the previous Thanksgiving, Woods sat before a packed media room on the Monday of the 2010 tournament week in an unprecedented news conference that had very little to do with golf<\/a>. Later, playing his first competitive round since December\u2019s Australian Masters, he shot 68. And he was in contention throughout the weekend, fighting his swing the entire way, frustrated he wasn\u2019t winning\u2014especially when Phil Mickelson emerged with his third green jacket<\/a>. Woods tied for fourth in an underrated performance given the circumstances. \u2014 Bob Harig<\/p>\n Woods wasn’t his sharpest, but his performace at the 2010 Masters was still impressive. \/ Andrew Redington\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Woods\u2019s game cooled off after his 2019 Masters victory<\/a> (more on that coming soon in our countdown) and it sure didn\u2019t seem like he\u2019d have much success in Japan after undergoing a microscopic knee surgery in August, which kept him out of action until the October event outside of Tokyo. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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