Tiger Woods at 50

For all the accolades received by elite athletes, it is the praise lavished upon them by their peers that often means the most.

When fellow sportspeople acknowledge greatness they do so from an unparalleled position; to be held in the highest of esteem by competitors and contemporaries is affirmation of a unique talent.

Enter Tiger Woods.

The three-time Champion Golfer is, for many, the greatest golfer in history. A record-breaking phenom in his younger days, Tiger has gone on to win 15 men’s majors, a tally only the great Jack Nicklaus (18) can beat.

Already aware of his precocious ability, after playing a 9-hole practice round with a 20-year-old Tiger in 1996, Nicklaus said: “This kid is the most fundamentally sound golfer I’ve ever seen at any age.”

These fundamentals carried Tiger to a level no other player could equal as he went on to dominate golf for the next decade.

When he won his first Claret Jug at St Andrews in 2000, he became the youngest male player in history (and just the fifth) to complete the career Grand Slam. He was just 24.

That watershed success at the home of golf was one of the most dominant in the long, storied history of The Open.

Tiger’s tally of 19-under-par was a new Championship record while, hot on the heels of his scarcely believable 15-stroke US Open victory at Pebble Beach, his eight-stroke winning margin was the largest in The Open since JH Taylor in 1913.

To further highlight his mastery of links golf, Tiger didn’t find a single bunker all week.

“It certainly looks like somebody out there is playing golf on a different planet than the rest of us," said joint runner-up Thomas Bjorn. "When he brings his A-game, he's just different class.”

2013 Champion Golfer Phil Mickelson, who enjoyed many a duel with Tiger, recently supported Bjorn’s claim.

“I've seen him do things with a golf ball that I've never seen anyone else do,” said Mickelson. “His play in 2000 was indescribable.

“He's the greatest of all time.”

In 2005, Tiger became just the fifth golfer to win two Opens at St Andrews after Bob Martin, JH Taylor, James Braid and Nicklaus.

He did so in dominant fashion once again.

Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie – then a seven-time European Order of Merit winner – was the firm fan favourite that week and, playing alongside Tiger, ‘Monty’ outscored the eventual Champion by a single stroke on the Saturday.

It mattered little, though, as Tiger went wire-to-wire, eventually beating Montgomerie by five strokes to collect his second Claret Jug and 10th major overall.

“He was always going to win,” said Montgomerie afterwards, “even if I had got closer he would have put his foot on the throttle again.”

Tiger’s third Open win 12 months later was less emphatic but no less impressive, certainly given that his father, Earl, had died two months earlier.

Renowned for his distance off the tee, the Californian produced yet another display of links wizardry, successfully navigating Royal Liverpool’s tricky terrain with exquisite iron play, proving that his ability through the bag is unrivalled.

“… [T]he most dominant, most skilled player we’ve ever seen,” was two-time Champion Golfer Arnold Palmer’s assessment.

Sir Nick Faldo, a winner of three Claret Jugs, was commentating at Hoylake that week and watched on in awe. "This has been a masterclass,” he said. “It's really been fantastic to watch. Sheer perfection.”

Tiger led from Friday morning onwards, but wasn’t allowed to run away with proceedings, with Sergio Garcia and Chris DiMarco on his tail.

But, as Montgomerie suggested a year earlier, Tiger found an extra gear when he needed it most, reeling off three straight birdies from the 14th on Sunday to pull clear before embracing his caddie Steve Williams on the 18th green.

Rory McIlroy – who also won the Claret Jug at Hoylake, in 2014 – is the most recent golfer to complete the career Grand Slam and he has repeatedly called Tiger his inspiration and his hero.

“Tiger's left more of a mark on this game, I think, than anyone else … in history,” said McIlroy.

“He’s been the greatest player that I’ve ever seen.”

And while McIlroy may not have been alive to witness the greatness of Nicklaus, Palmer, or five-time Champion Golfer Tom Watson, Gary Player has competed against them all – and is unequivocal on his opinion of Tiger Woods.

“The most talented golfer that [has] ever lived,” said Player, who won each of his three Claret Jugs in different decades.

So what made Tiger, who turns 50 on 30 December, stand out above everyone else? Why is he so successful?

One player who suffered from Tiger’s brilliance more than most was two-time Champion Golfer Ernie Els, finishing joint runner-up to Tiger in 2000 and then third in 2006.

“People ask me this question a lot … what separated Tiger from us?” said Els. “There’s a lot of things, but the one real factor was his intensity on the first tee.

“On the first tee you just want to get in the round and see how things are, testing out the waters of the competition.

“A lot of us were like that, but Tiger, he was different. On the first tee he was ready to go. He was ready to absolutely strangle the golf course and … really take down the tournament. He wasn’t there to mess around.

“That is one thing that separated him then and still separates him today. I don’t see that intensity from other competitors before the first round on the first tee.”

It is a theory backed up by Tiger’s long-time caddie Williams, with whom Tiger won all but two of his 15 majors.

"His desire to win was beyond belief,” said Williams. “And his only measure of a successful week was when he won a golf tournament.

“If he didn’t win the tournament, it wasn’t a successful week.

"When you get somebody that’s at the top of the game, whether it be Rory [McIlroy], whether it be Scottie Scheffler now, it just comes down to the desire of wanting to win, and that’s where Tiger was just incredible.”