Tiger Woods and the 6 best Major wins of the decade

Shane Lowry won the Claret Jug at Royal Portrush in the final major of the decade. That got me thinking, which major golf wins define the 2010s?

Last decade, one man ruled golf and his name was Tiger Woods. Woods won a ridiculous 12 majors in the 2000s to cement himself as one of the greatest athletes in sports history. Woods’ next decade was a mixed bag of scandals, injuries and eventually redemption but this gave an opportunity for others to become the face of the sport.

Over the past ten years, the biggest stages of golf provided us with 25 new major winners and a few men who were able to repeat and complete amazing feats to give the sport a sense of parity. Even without Tiger’s presence on the major stage every year, the 2010s gave us some remarkable moments on the major scene that soon won’t be forgotten. From Phil Mickelson at the 2010 Masters to Shane Lowry at the 2019 Open, the majors are done.

Here are the six best and most memorable major wins of the decade in no particular order.

(But yes, we have to start with Tiger).

Tiger finally wins No. 15 (Masters 2019)

To say this wasn’t the signature moment of golf over the last ten years is foolish. The world watched in amazement when Tiger Woods walked on the 18th green at Augusta and finally captured his 15th major, 11 years after his U.S. Open win at Torrey Pines.

Woods got himself within two strokes of Francesco Molinari entering the final round. The rain played its part as the final round had to be moved up to early morning tee times with the leaders teeing off at 9:20 am instead of around 3 pm. What happened that morning was one of the greatest stories in sports.

Woods shot a final-round score of 70 to finish the Masters at 13-under-par and grab his fifth green jacket against a loaded final day field. At 43, Woods took over the sporting headlines with his celebration on 18 and later hugging his children and mother with sheer joy. A moment and tradition unlike any other.

Jason Day shoots 20-under (PGA 2015)

The Australian Jason Day showed off why he should be considered one of the world’s best at Whistling Straits in 2015. In a tournament and year dominated by Jordan Spieth (we’ll get to him later), Day went in as a darkhorse and obliterated the Par 72 course in Wisconsin.

He shot a major record 20-under par with scores of 68, 67, 66 and 67 for the week and became the first Aussie to win the PGA since 1985. It could very well be the best week of golf ever played in PGA Championship history.