Golf is not a game of perfect. This is not new information. For decades, the world’s best players and instructors have preached the same mantra: that golf is all about minimizing the damage from your bad shots, not relying on your good ones. Tiger Woods subscribes to this approach.
“This is a game of misses,” Woods says,
“If I’m able to hit one perfect shot per tournament, it would be great. If I happen to hit two per tournament, it’s usually when I’ve won by big margins.”
Woods, of course, is no stranger to winning by big margins. He has won by seven or more shots 12 times on the PGA Tour, and five of his 15 major championship victories have come by at least five shots.
“We all know that out here, everyone’s good is good. But how good is your bad? That’s the difference.”
Tiger Woods’ Best PGA Tour Scores
Lowest 18-Hole Scores
What are Tiger Woods’ best scores over 18 holes in a PGA Tour event? Woods has posted nine rounds of 62 or better on the PGA Tour. Here are those low rounds:
61 — 1999 Byron Nelson Classic, first round
61 — 2000 WGC-NEC Invitational, second round
61 — 2005 Buick Open, second round
61 — 2013 WGC Bridgestone Invitational, second round
62 — 1999 Buick Invitational, third round
62 — 1999 WGC-NEC Invitational, third round
62 — 2009 BMW Championship, third round
62 — 2012 Honda Classic, fourth round
62 — 2018 BMW Championship, first round
It might be surprising to some reading this that Woods hasn’t had more scores of 62 and lower. Keep in mind that throughout his career Woods has played a shorter schedule than most other PGA Tour members, and generally plays in only the highest-level (meaning, generally, tougher) tournaments.
Low Rounds in Majors
In major championships, Woods has gotten as low as 64 twice:
63 — 2007 PGA Championship, second round
64 — 1997 British Open, third round
64 — 2018 PGA Championship, fourth round
Lowest 72-Hole Scores on PGA Tour
What about Woods’ tournament totals? Here are his lowest stroke totals in 72-hole PGA Tour tournaments:
257 — 2002 Tour Championship (23-under)
259 — 2000 WGC NEC Invitational (21-under)
261 — 2006 WGC American Express Championship (23-under)
261 — 2019 Zozo Championship (19-under)
262 — 2007 BMW Championship (22-under)
263 — 1997 GTE Byron Nelson Classic (17-under)
263 — 2002 WGC American Express Championship (25-under)
Lowest 72-Hole Scores in Majors
And here are Woods’ lowest 72-hole stroke totals in major championships:
266 — 2018 PGA Championship
269 — 2000 British Open (19-under)
270 — 1997 Masters (18-under)
270 — 2000 PGA Championship (18-under)
270 — 2006 British Open (18-under)
270 — 2006 PGA Championship (18-under)
Tiger Woods’ Lowest Round Ever
We know from the statistics above that Woods’ best round ever on the PGA Tour is 61, which he has accomplished several times. But has he ever gone lower than that? Has Woods ever shot 59?
The answer is yes, but it didn’t happen in an official tournament round. In early April of 1997, in preparation for the coming Masters Tournament, Woods and Mark O’Meara played a practice round together at Isleworth Golf and Country Club in Florida. That was Woods’ home course.
And Woods carded a 59 that day, 13-under par on the Isleworth course. He scored 32 on the front nine and 27 on the back nine. That is the only round of 59 in Tiger’s career.
But Woods told reporters at a news conference once that what happened the next day was even better:
“We (Woods and O’Meara) played nine holes, and I was 5‑under through nine, and then parred 10 and made a hole‑in‑one at 11. He just drove his cart home. That’s actually a better story. He didn’t say a word to me.”
Woods won that 1997 Masters in record-setting fashion. And O’Meara won the Masters in 1998.
