Tiger Woods' Record in Playoffs and All the Scores
Has Tiger Woods be a good playoff player over his career? Yes — in fact, Woods has been great in playoffs. That probably doesn't surprise you. But the fact is, a golfer's overall greatness isn't necessarily an indicator of playoff success: Arnold Palmer's playoff record and Jack Nicklaus' playoff record are both good, but not great. And Ben Hogan had a losing record in playoffs.
As for Woods? In playoffs on the PGA Tour, Woods had a winning percentage of 92-percent. Among PGA Tour players with as many playoffs as Woods (12), Tiger has the best record of all-time.
How many playoffs has Tiger Woods played on the PGA Tour? Answer: 12.
What Woods' PGA Tour playoff record? He won 11 of those playoffs and lost just one. In PGA Tour playoffs, Woods was 11-1.
Which golfer beat Woods in a PGA Tour playoff? Billy Mayfair.
Note that this Q&A pertains only to the PGA Tour, but we'll show you Woods' playoff record on other tours, too. (For example, he's 10-0 on the European Tour, although that comes with a caveat mentioned below.) Moral of the story: It's really hard to beat Tiger Woods in a tour playoff! (As we'll see in the last section, however, Woods was much more "gettable" in non-tour playoffs.)
Tiger Woods' Major Championship Playoffs
Three of Woods' 12 PGA Tour playoffs happened at major championships. Woods won all three of those playoffs:- 2000 PGA Championship: Woods' showdown here was with journeyman Bob May, who not only hung with Woods during the final round and down the stretch, but also in the three-hole, aggregate-score playoff. Woods was 1-under in that playoff (3-4-5—12), while May was even-par (4-4-5—13). The one-stroke edge came on the first extra hole, and that's where Woods famously walked in his 6-foot birdie putt, pointing at the hole as the ball fell into the cup. This was Woods' 22nd career PGA Tour win and his fifth win in a major.
- 2005 Masters Tournament: The iconic moment in this tournament happened in the final round when Woods made his miraculous chip-in on the 16th hole. Woods wasn't as sharp as normal during the final round, but that chip-in helped him finish 72 holes tied with Chris DiMarco. The Masters uses a sudden-death playoff format, and Woods won with a birdie on the first extra hole. It was his 43rd PGA Tour win, ninth major championship win and fourth Masters win.
- 2008 U.S. Open: This was Woods' most-recent playoff on the PGA Tour. It was his 15th win in a major, his 65th PGA Tour tournament victory. Woods made a birdie putt on the 72nd hole to force the playoff with Rocco Mediate. Woods and Mediate both scored 71 in the 18-hole playoff, so they continued into sudden death. And on that first sudden-death hole (the 19th playoff hole overall), Woods won with a par.
Woods' Other PGA Tour Playoffs
In addition to his playoffs in majors, Woods played in nine PGA Tour playoffs in "regular" tournaments. His record in those nine playoffs was 8-1. All of those playoffs were sudden-death in format.- 1996 Las Vegas Invitational: Woods' very first PGA Tour victory was via playoff, and against a top player, Davis Love III. That would have daunted a normal rookie, but not Woods. He won with a par on the first hole. (Coincidentally, Love also lost in a playoff in the first PGA Tour event ever played by Woods.)
- 1997 Mercedes Championship: Rain washed out the final round, so third-round leaders Woods and Tom Lehman returned for a playoff. Woods played first and nearly jarred his tee shot on the par-3, his ball stopping an inch from hole. Another early, iconic moment in Tiger's career.
- 1998 Nissan Open: This is where Billy Mayfair became the only golfer to beat Woods in a PGA Tour playoff. Mayfair birdied the final hole of regulation to get into the playoff, then beat Woods with a birdie on the first extra hole.
- 1999 WGC American Express Championship: Beat Miguel Angel Jimenez with a birdie on the first playoff hole. This was Woods' 15th PGA Tour win.
- 2000 Mercedes Championship: Beat Ernie Els with a birdie on the first extra hole.
- 2001 WGC NEC Invitational: The longest sudden-death playoff Tiger ever played, this one took seven holes. Woods and Jim Furyk both birdied the final hole of regulation to set up the playoff. Then they matched scores for six holes before Woods won with a birdie on the seventh playoff hole.
- 2005 WGC American Express Championship: Defeated John Daly with a par on the second extra hole.
- 2006 Buick Invitational: The only three-way playoff on the list, Woods faced Jose Maria Olazabal and Nathan Green in this playoff. Green was eliminated on the first extra hole; Woods won with a par on the second hole.
- 2006 WGC Bridgestone Invitational: Tiger won with a birdie on the fourth hole of the playoff. This was Woods' 52nd career PGA Tour win, tying Byron Nelson on the all-time list.
Woods' Playoffs on the European Tour
Because majors and WGC tournaments are also counted as official by the European Tour, Woods' European Tour playoff record is 10-0. Seven of those wins are accounted for in the lists above, however, so following are Woods' three European Tour playoff wins in "regular" (non-major, non-WGC) tournaments:- 1998 Johnnie Walker Classic: Defeated Ernie Els with a birdie on the second sudden-death playoff hole.
- 2002 Deutsche Bank—SAP Open TPC of Europe: Faced Colin Montgomerie and won with a par on the third playoff hole.
- 2006 Dubai Desert Classic: Beat Ernie Els with a par on the first extra hole.
Other Playoff Wins and Losses
- 1998 Johnnie Walker Classic: This tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia ended in a playoff between Tiger and Ernie Els. Woods won with a second-hole birdie.
- 1998 Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge: A non-Tour tournament in South Africa. Woods faced Nick Price in the playoff and lost on the first extra hole to Price's birdie.
- 2000 PGA Grand Slam of Golf: Woods beat Vijay Singh in the playoff with an eagle on the first playoff hole. The PGA Grand Slam of Golf was a non-tour, end-of-the-year event with a field of just four golfers.
- 2001 WGC World Cup: A team tournament, Woods and David Duval comprised Team USA. The United States, Denmark (Thomas Bjorn, Soren Hansen), New Zealand (Michael Campbell, David Smail) and South Africa (Ernie Els, Retief Goosen) were in the playoff. Team USA was eliminated on the first playoff hole; Team South Africa won on the second playoff hole. Of the five times Woods and Els met in playoffs, this was Els' only victory.
- 2005 Dunlop Phoenix Tournament: On the Japan Golf Tour, Woods needed four holes before a birdie won this playoff against Kaname Yokoo.
- 2006 Dunlop Phoenix Tournament: For the second year in a row in this tournament, Woods went to a playoff. This time, however, he lost to Padraig Harrington's second-hole birdie. Woods was 1-1 in two Japan Tour playoffs.
- 2010 Chevron World Challenge: Woods' own non-Tour, end-of-year event, he lost to Graeme McDowell's birdie on the first playoff hole.
- 2013: Northwestern Mutual World Challenge: Woods' own non-Tour event again, under a different name. Zach Johnson beat Tiger with a par on the first playoff hole.
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