Tiger Woods will not be at one of his favourite hunting grounds when the US Open returns to Torrey Pines this week. But given his association with the course, Woods will dominate the historical highlight reels during the coverage.
Picking the most memorable of Woods’ 15 major championship victories is no easy task. He has blitzed scoring records and world-class fields in a handful of those wins, he has found a way to get over the line when not at his best in others. And, of course, he defied the doubters when he landed No 15 – and his first in 11 years – at the Masters in 2019.
But it was No 14 that stood out for many reasons, chiefly that he played 91 holes practically on one good leg when the US Open was last played at Torrey Pines in 2008. After wincing his way around a punishing layout for four days, he made one of the best clutch putts of his career on the 72nd green to force an 18-hole playoff against unheralded veteran Rocco Mediate.
And those extra 18 holes were not enough to separate the pair, with Woods finally getting his hands on the trophy after one hole of sudden-death action. A day later, the champion revealed he had been playing with a double stress fracture in his lower left leg as well as a dodgy ACL in his knee, injuries which required immediate surgery and kept Woods on the sidelines for the remainder of the year.
The warning signs were waved long before the build-up began for the second major of what was promising to be another golden year for golf’s standout star. Woods began 2008 with four victories in four starts, making it eight wins in nine events stretching back to the previous year’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational – a run punctured only by a “disappointing” tie for second at the Deutsche Bank Championship, won by arch-rival Phil Mickelson.
