Tiger Woods’ victories on European soil

Tiger Woods is one of the greatest golfers of all time. His talent, passion, and hard work have earned him numerous victories throughout his career. Amongst his most memorable ones was the 1997 Masters Tournament. He won by a record-breaking 12 shots and became the youngest winner in the tournament’s history. This victory marked the start of his dominance in golf and solidified his place as one of the top golfers in the world. 

Another significant victory was in 2000 when he won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links by 15 shots. This win was considered one of the most dominant performances in the history of golf. 

Tiger’s career wasn't without challenges, but he never gave up. After a few years of injuries and personal struggles, Tiger returned to golf with a bang in 2018. He won the Tour Championship, his 80th PGA Tour victory and his first win in five years.

The year after, Tiger made history by winning the 2019 Masters Tournament at Augusta National for the fifth time in his career. It was his first major win in 11 years, and it was a remarkable comeback after his numerous setbacks. The victory was emotional for both Tiger and his fans, showing that he still had what it takes to be the best.

In total Tiger Woods has managed to win 82 times on tour. A large part of these victories was in his home country, the USA. Only nine times did he manage to secure a victory on European soil and at six different courses. In this blog we will highlight the courses where Tiger has been victorious, sorted by their rating on Leading Courses.

The Grove is home to one of the most prestigious golf courses in the UK. Located Northwest of London in Hertfordshire, the club staged a World Golf Championship event in 2006 and hosted the British Masters in 2016. To this day, the WGC American Express Championship, held at the Grove in 2006, remains the only WGC championship that was staged in the UK. Just one week before the 2006 Ryder cup, which was held at The K Club in Ireland, this World Golf Championship was won by none other than Tiger Woods. Tiger finished at an impressive -23 scoring rounds of  63, 64, 67, 67 ahead of the two runners up Ian Poulter and Adam Scott. 

Golf Club St. Leon-Rot, established in 1996, has two 18-hole championship courses, a 9-hole short course, and a 5-hole mini-course that have received numerous awards. From 2000 to 2010, the Red Championship Course won the Golf Journal Travel Award for "Most popular golf course in Germany," with Platz St. Leon winning the award in 2011.

The golf course is notable for its association with Tiger Woods, who has won the Deutsche Bank - SAP Open TPC of Europe three times on this course, in 1999, 2001, and 2002. Woods won his first title on the European Tour and first on the continent of Europe by claiming the title at St. Leon Rot in 1999. He secured his second title in 2001 with a remarkable seven-iron shot for an eagle two at the 13th hole, beating Michael Campbell by four strokes. In 2002, he won the title for the third time in a sudden-death playoff with Colin Montgomerie by sinking a five-foot birdie putt on the third extra hole.

Designed by Jack Nicklaus, Mount Juliet golf course first opened in 1991 with a friendly match between Jack Nicklaus and Christy O'Connor Snr. Since then the course has established itself as a premier venue for top professional and leisure golfers from around the world. This was highlighted when Mount Juliet hosted top golf players such as Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia and Pádraig Harrington for the WGC American Express Golf Championship in September of 2002 and again, because of its enormous success, in 2004. On his debut, Tiger Woods was victorious here while competing with the top 50 in the world. Tiger won the tournament with a total of 25 under par, which made him a million dollars in prize money. A great prize back then, but in the current world of golf perhaps not too impressive. How times have changed!

For more than 600 years St Andrews Links, much like the game of golf itself, has evolved. Today more than 230,000 rounds are played here at the ‘Home of Golf’. Although widely known for the famous 'Old Course’ - including landmarks like Hell Bunker, the Road Hole and the Swilcan bridge - St Andrews Links actually has 7 golf courses and a total of 117 holes. The Old course does stand out at Leading Courses with a rating of 9.3!

The Home of Golf first got to know Tiger Woods in 2000 at age 24. He immediately grabbed the title there finishing with an astounding 19 under par, a record in the Open held for more than fifteen years.  He went on to complete the ‘Tiger Slam’ that year holding all majors at the same time.

Tiger has won The Open three times in total and two of these victories have been at St Andrews. He won here again during the 134th Open in 2005. Leading ‘wire to wire’ from day 1 he eventually outlasted Colin Montgomerie by 5 shots. His tenth grand slam victory at St Andrews also gave him his second career grand slam, before the age of 30. One year later he managed to secure his 3rd and provisional Open title at Royal Liverpool.

The Royal Liverpool is the oldest of all the English seaside clubs, except for Royal North Devon Golf Club, which was founded only a few years earlier. The Club celebrated its 150th birthday in 2019. This year, 17 years after the last ‘Open’ at The Royal Liverpool, the Open will finally return at this beautiful Links course. So what a great moment to take a 17-year trip down memory lane and look at Tiger’s achievements in 2006.

Holding of other greats like Ernie Els and Jim Furyk, Tiger managed to clinch his third Open and second consecutive Open crown with a two-shot lead. It was an extra emotional win for Tiger, as it was his first victory since his father Earl Woods passed away in May of that year. Finishing it up with a solid two-putt and an initially calm appearance, Tiger fell in the arms of his caddy Steve Williams and let his emotions take over, eventually walking off the green in tears showing the world how much both the victory and his father meant to him.

Last, but not least, in our list is where one of the greatest meets one of the greatest. We go back to the year 1999 when 24-year-old Tiger Woods clinches his first and only victory in Spain, two years after the European victory at the 1997 Ryder Cup at that exact same location: Real Club Valderrama. Tiger rolled in a 12-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to edge out Spanish favourite Miguel Angel Jiménez in a thrilling climax clinching his 15th victory at the PGA tour at Real Club Valderrama.

The exceptional course is located in Andalucia, the largest and southernmost region of Spain. A few miles north of Gibraltar, it is approximately two hours drive from Cádiz and one and a half hours from Málaga. The Par 71 Championship Course measures 6356 meters from the professional tees. The fairways have been described by top pros and leading golf writers as the best in Europe, if not the world. It is not an easy course - nor was it intended to be. It is designed so as to call forth thought and precision for every shot.

The course was designed in 1974 by Robert Trent Jones, Sr, one of the great golf course architects, and was originally known as Sotogrande New. In 1981 its name was changed to Las Aves. Finally, Ortiz-Patiño renamed the course, Valderrama, after the ancient estate on which the land is situated.

For a full overview of all the European courses where Tiger was victorious view this map.