Tiger’s Historic Run at 2000 Buick Invitational: A Look Back
As we mark 25 years since Tiger Woods’ legendary 2000 season, let’s revisit his first tournament that year at Torrey Pines. Fresh off his sixth straight PGA Tour victory at Pebble Beach, Woods arrived at the Buick Invitational with a chance to inch closer to Byron Nelson’s record of 11 consecutive wins.
Woods was riding high after an incredible comeback at Pebble, where he erased a seven-shot deficit with just eight holes to play. That win, capped by a memorable hole-out eagle at 15, put him alongside Ben Hogan’s 1948 streak of six straight victories.
“It’s a tremendous task ahead of me,” Woods said about chasing Nelson’s record. “You’re going to have to play well for a long period of time, but you have to get lucky too.”
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Tiger Woods
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$120,999,166
At Torrey, where he’d already won once, Tiger opened with a modest 71 on the North Course. He trailed Davis Love III by six shots but wasn’t concerned. “That’s fine,” he said. “There’s a lot of holes to be played. I proved that last year.”
A Friday 68 on the South Course kept him six back, this time chasing a trio led by Phil Mickelson. After matching Woods’ Saturday 67, Mickelson threw down the gauntlet: “For him to win, he’s going to have to shoot an extraordinary round. If I play well, I’m not going to worry about Tiger.”
Woods responded with five birdies in his first 13 holes Sunday to pull even with Mickelson at 15-under. But his bogey-free streak of 44 holes ended at the wrong time – he dropped shots at 14 and 16. Mickelson played flawlessly down the stretch, finishing 3-under in his final seven holes to win by four.
While the victory streak ended, Woods still made history that week. His runner-up check for $264,000 pushed him past Davis Love III to become the PGA Tour’s all-time money leader – a position he’s held ever since. From that initial $12.8 million mark, he’s now earned nearly $121 million in tour earnings, more than $30 million ahead of current second-place Rory McIlroy.
“First time I’ve been asked… in the last hour.” – Craig Stadler, when asked about Woods during tournament week
The tournament showed that even during his most dominant stretches, Woods wasn’t unbeatable. But it also demonstrated why he was already the game’s biggest star – every tournament became a story about Tiger, whether he won or not.
