Ranking the 5 U.S. Opens played at Pebble Beach

2. 2000 – Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods made it clear early in the 2000 U.S. Open that the rest of the field was playing for second.

Woods’ performance over the four days at Pebble Beach can only be described as the greatest in golf history. He opened with a 65 and led by one. After a delayed second round that finished on Saturday morning, the lead was six. In the afternoon, on a day when only one player managed to break par, Woods shot an even-par 71 and led Ernie Els by 10 going into the final round.

The last 18 holes was simply a coronation, but Woods never let up. He began with nine straight pars before making a birdie at the 10th. He then ran off three straight birdies on holes 12-14 and didn’t make a bogey the entire round.

By the time he tapped in on the 18th green, he was at 12-under, the first player in U.S. Open history to finish at double-digits under par. He beat Els and Miguel Angel Jimenez by 15 shots, the largest winning margin in a major championship. He didn’t miss a putt under 10 feet the entire week in becoming the first wire-to-wire champion since 1991.

It was a dominating performance right from the first tee shot, one that won’t soon be replicated. “I have never played four days like I did at Pebble Beach,” he recalled. “I put together, from tee to green, all aspects of my game. It all came together in one magical week.”

Woods would go on to win the next three major champions to complete the “Tiger Slam.”