Tiger’s blitz of Pebble, revisited
PEBBLE BEACH — Ernie Els and Miguel Angel Jimenez count as the answers to a great trivia question: Who finished second when Tiger Woods lapped the field in the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach?
Nineteen years later, as he reflected on Woods’ epic rout — the most dominant performance in major championship history — Els still seemed a bit stunned. He and Jimenez finished at 3-over-par, a morethan-respectable score for the U.S. Open.
Woods won at 12-under, the first time in Open history a player completed 72 holes double-digits below par.
“The back nine was like a victory walk for him,” Els said Tuesday. “But, remember, Tiger was very intense back in those days. He was really playing every shot a hundred percent to his ability, and he was not backing off one inch.
“I remember he made a putt on 16 for par and he was fist pumping, and I was like, ‘The tournament is over.’ But obviously, he didn’t want to make a bogey or something (on Sunday). It was an amazing walk.
“It was tough for me, because I was like a sideshow and people knew they were watching history. … His swing was unbelievable. He was hitting it a long way past most of us, and he was in total control of every aspect of his game. I’m sure he had a good time.”
Justin Rose was 19 at the time, not even playing on the PGA Tour yet. Rose watched on television as Woods, then 24, stormed to victory, leaving all other players — including superb players — in his wake.
The memory evoked an uncommon emotion among tour pros: sympathy.
“I kind of felt sorry for everybody else,” Rose said. “It wasn’t a fair fight at that point. … I felt like these guys playing in the Tiger era in the 2000s, Phil (Mickelson) and Ernie and Vijay (Singh), Tiger was taking away so many opportunities from those guys.
“If it wasn’t for Tiger, their careers may look a lot different.”
Els and Brooks Koepka acknowledged watching Golf Channel’s replay of the 2000 U.S. Open last week. Koepka, who has won the Open the past two years, was only 10 at the time of Woods’ win at Pebble.
So the replay revealed the full scope of his dominance.
“Obviously, it’s super impressive what Tiger was able to do,” Koepka said. “It’s probably the greatest golf performance we’re going to see. It was fun to watch on TV even 19 years later, which is just incredible to say.”
Rickie Fowler was 11 in June 2000, more into motocross than golf. Fowler is 30 now, a bit younger than Woods (43) — a disparity Fowler uses in their goodnatured, poke-the-needle conversations.
“I don’t remember watching it a whole lot,” Fowler said of the 2000 Open. “I was a little young and Tiger is getting a little older now. We make sure he’s aware of that, too.”