The 2018 PGA Tour Season has been one of the most exciting seasons in golf, especially in the majors. From first-time major winners to players adding to their major victory totals, it was indeed hard to beat the drama and excitement that came with the majors this season. This season was also special thanks to the return of one of the greatest, if not THE greatest, golfers of all time: Tiger Woods. In this article, we will cover his golf rankings and provide an overview of the 2018 Major Championships, who won, and how Tiger Woods performed in every one of them.
Tiger Woods Golf Rankings
It wasn’t that long ago that Tiger Woods golf game was at an all-time low. He wasn’t even ranked in the top 1000 golfers in the world.
We’re talking 9 months ago.
But 2018 was a wild comeback for the most famous golfer on the planet. Last month Business Insider reported how he climbed 1173 spots in 8 months. Now, after placing 2nd at the PGA Championship Tiger Woods sits as the 21st best golfer in the world.
2018 PGA Tour Majors Review
Join us as we take a look back on the 2018 Majors, along with how Tiger Woods performed:
The 2018 Masters Golf Tournament Review
The 81st edition of the only major that stays at the same golf course year after year, the Masters Tournament provided plenty of great storylines and one of the more polarizing champions on the PGA Tour.
Sergio Garcia, who came to the Augusta National Golf Club to defend his first major championship from the year before, stole the headlines of the first round, but it was for the wrong reasons. On the 15th hole, Sergio had laid up in prime position for his third shot on the par-5, but he would put five balls into the water, resulting in a 13 on the hole. He would shoot 81-78 and miss the cut.
The 2018 Masters would come down to three players: Patrick Reed, Rickie Fowler, and Jordan Spieth. While Reed began the final round with the lead, it was Rory McIlroy who was his closest pursuer to start. Unfortunately for Rory, who was looking to complete the Career Grand Slam, he would shoot 74 and never be a factor.
The most significant charge of the final round came from Jordan Spieth. He started the day nine shots behind Reed, but after his ninth birdie of the round on the 16th hole, he found himself in the lead. However, a final hole bogey would place him in solo third.
Fowler would also rally on the back nine, including a birdie on the 72nd hole to post 14-under and put the pressure squarely on Reed, who held a two stroke lead before Rickie finished his round.
Patrick Reed would answer the challenge with pars on his last four holes and a one-stroke victory for his first major championship and his sixth career PGA Tour title.
How did Tiger Woods do at the Augusta National Golf Club?
Tiger Woods, making his first Masters appearance since 2015, would play steady golf but never be a factor in the tournament. Combined rounds of 73-75-72-69 resulted in a tie for 32nd place.
2018 US Open Golf Championship Review
Shinnecock Hills, just outside New York City, hosted the 2018 U.S. Open for the fifth time in the 118-year-history of our national Open. Brooks Koepka, who missed the Masters due to injury, would try to become the first player to successfully defend the U.S. Open since Curtis Strange did it 30 years prior.
The biggest headline of the week was if the United States Golf Association would keep the golf course under control after the issues they had in the last U.S. Open held at Shinnecock in 2004.
The ridiculousness of the third round course conditions came to a crescendo when Phil Mickelson, seven-time U.S. Open runner-up, hit a putt while the ball was still in motion to avoid it going back off the green.
Unfortunately, late in the third round, history seemed to repeat itself. Dustin Johnson, who held the second round lead, would shoot 7-over 77 and still find himself tied for the lead with Koepka along with Daniel Berger and Tony Finau, both of whom shot 66 early in the third round to rocket up the leaderboard with a chance to win their first major.
After the backlash the USGA received for the course conditions, they responded by making the golf course much more receptive for the final round, and the scores reflected the changes. Tommy Fleetwood made a huge charge after starting the final round six strokes off the lead. His final round 7-under 63 is the lowest final round in a U.S. Open since Johnny Miller completed the feat in 1973 at Oakmont. In the end, Brooks Koepka would hold off the charge with a final round 68 for back-to-back U.S. Open victories, and his third career PGA Tour win.
How did Tiger Woods do in the 2018 US Open Golf Tournament?
Tiger’s quest for his first major in ten years seemed to be over from the start. He began his first round with an opening-hole triple bogey 7, followed by a bogey on 2. He would shoot 78-72 and miss the cut in the U.S. Open for only the third time in his career.
2018 The British Open Golf Championship Review
The oldest championship in golf was contested at Carnoustie Golf Links for the eighth time in the tournament’s history. Known as one of the toughest courses in the Open Championship rotation, this edition was an exception thanks to relatively tame conditions. Jordan Spieth was looking to defend his last PGA Tour victory, and after three rounds, he was in a position to do so as he was tied for the lead with Kevin Kisner and Xander Schauffele.
During the final round, none of the three overnight leaders would go low, resulting in one of the most dramatic final rounds in major championship golf. Francesco Molinari, Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy, Kevin Chappell, Eddie Pepperell, and Tiger Woods would all find themselves tied for or holding the lead outright at some point on the back nine.
In the end, it would be Francesco Molinari, the only player in the final round without a bogey, who would birdie the 14th and 18th to become the first Italian golfer to win a major championship and also won his first PGA Tour title.
How did Tiger Woods do in the 2018 Open Championship?
The final round of the 2018 Open Championship was something that Tiger Woods fans all over the world have been waiting for since 2013. After starting with two even par rounds of 71, Tiger played a fantastic third round, making six birdies offset by only one bogey and began the final round four shots out of the lead.
His final round began steadily, with birdies on holes 4 and 6 and by the time Tiger Woods made the turn, he had taken the lead in a major championship for the first time in five years. Unfortunately, his holding of the lead would be short-lived after a double-bogey on an 11 and a bogey on 12. A birdie on 14 and pars the rest of the way in would result in a final round 71 and a tie for sixth place, which was just good enough to get him into the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings.
2018 PGA Championship Review
This year marked the final year that the PGA Championship would be held as the final major; in 2019, the tournament will move to May and be in between the Masters and the U.S. Open. It would be Justin Thomas’s turn to defend a major championship at Bellerive Country Club just outside St. Louis, Missouri. The 100th edition of this incredibly exciting major championship would not disappoint golf fans.
Weather played a factor early in the tournament, and the completion of the second round would be delayed until Saturday morning. The course yielded incredibly low scores in the second round, with two rounds of 63 shot by Brooks Koepka and Charl Schwartzel. The low scoring would continue in the third round, and Koepka, looking for his second major of the year, would take a two-shot lead into the final round over Adam Scott.
The final round would come down to a three-way battle between Adam Scott, Brooks Koepka, and Tiger Woods. While Scott and Koepka had slow starts through the middle of the front nine, Tiger had a magical start to his round. Despite having a difficult time finding fairways, he would make four birdies and only one bogey to put himself into contention.
Adam Scott would go on a nice run in the middle of the round with birdies at 7, 8, 10, 12 and 13, while Koepka would bounce back from bogeys at 4 and 5 with three birdies on 7 through 9. When Tiger birdied 12 and 13, suddenly there were two players tied at the top with Woods only one shot behind.
In the end, Brooks Koepka would take control of the tournament with birdies at 15 and 16, which neither Scott nor Woods could match. Pars at 17 and 18 would earn Koepka his second major championship of the year, his third overall and fourth total PGA Tour victory. With this win, Brooks Koepka became the fifth player in history to win both the U.S. Open and PGA Championship in the same year.
How did Tiger Woods do in the 2018 PGA Championship?
An opening round even-par 70 would be the highest round Tiger Woods would have all week. He followed up his first round with two consecutive 66s and began the final round four shots back. As mentioned above, he gave the final round everything he had, making eight birdies and shooting the second-lowest score of his major championship career: a six-under 64. His solo-second finish is the best result of his latest comeback season.
We had a great time watching the 2018 major championships, and we cannot wait for the 2019 major championships to kick off at the Masters next April at Augusta National Golf Club. What was your favorite major championship moment? Let us know in the comments below!
