Fansided

Tiger Woods’ 15 essential moments on the PGA Tour

By Luke Norris

AUGUSTA, GA - 1997: Tiger Woods during the final round of the 1997 Masters Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club on April 13, 1997 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/PGA TOUR Archive)
AUGUSTA, GA - 1997: Tiger Woods during the final round of the 1997 Masters Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club on April 13, 1997 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/PGA TOUR Archive) /
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6 Oct 1996: Tiger Wood hits a second shot during the Las Vegas Invitational in Las Vegas, Nevada. Woods won the tournament, capturing his first ever win on the pro tour. Mandatory Credit: J.D. Cuban/Allsport
6 Oct 1996: Tiger Wood hits a second shot during the Las Vegas Invitational in Las Vegas, Nevada. Woods won the tournament, capturing his first ever win on the pro tour. Mandatory Credit: J.D. Cuban/Allsport /

Tiger gets his first win

One way to avoid having to get into the top 125 on the money list or going to qualifying school to earn a spot on the PGA Tour is simply to get a win. Easy enough for a 20-year-old, right?

Following that tie for 60th in his pro debut in Milwaukee, Tiger Woods followed it up with an 11th-place finish at the Bell Canadian Open. He then took solo fifth in the Quad Cities and next tied for third at the B.C. Open in New York. He had pretty much guaranteed himself a spot in that top 125 but a guy like Tiger doesn’t like to leave anything to chance. Woods came to the Las Vegas Invitational in early October 1996 playing very well and people could just sense that his first PGA Tour win was coming. Back then, the tournament wasn’t the typical 72 holes…it was 90. But Tiger actually needed more than that.

After shooting 27-under over the five rounds, including a 64 in the final round, Tiger found himself in a playoff with Davis Love III, who at that time was the 11th-ranked player in the world and had just finished tied for second the week before at the Buick Challenge. Love had also won this event three years earlier. Woods had gotten to 221st in the world after his performance at the B.C. Open but he was the focus all week long at TPC Summerlin.

Both players hit the fairway on the first playoff hole but Love made a big mistake and hit his approach into the greenside bunker. Woods hit his second onto the green and won with a simple, two-putt par for PGA Tour win number one, earning him $297,000 and a spot on tour for the next two years.

Tiger rose to 75th in the world with the win and would get another victory just two weeks later at Disney. By the time 1996 came to a close, Woods had risen to 33rd in the world but little did he know (or maybe he did) that the biggest win in golf history was only a few months away. However, he had a few pit stops to make on the way.

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