Memorable Tiger Woods moments from the PGA Championship

Four months after winning his first major at the Masters in 1997, the 21-year-old Woods made his PGA Championship debut at Winged Foot. He never broke 70 in any round of the tournament and suffered a final-round 75 to finish plus-six and tied for 29th.

Things went better for Tiger the next year at Sahalee. He opened with a four-under-par 66 to take the first-round lead, but he shot 72 the next day then failed to break 70 over the weekend. When it was over, Woods tied for 10th, his third top-10 finish at a major in 1998.

It wasn't easy, at least not at the end, but Woods claimed his second major title and first PGA crown, at Medinah Country Club in 1999. After opening with a 70, Woods carded rounds of 67 and 68 to share the 54-hole lead. In the end he was one stroke better than a promising young Spaniard named Sergio Garcia, who gave Tiger all he could handle down the stretch.

It wasn't the prettiest finish to any of Woods' major titles, but his 72 in that final round at Medinah showed some impressive mettle for a 23-year-old. Woods carded four birdies through the first 11 holes to build a five-shot lead, but an ensuing rough stretch left him ahead by one with Garcia on his tail. Woods, though, overcame a poor tee shot on the par-3 17th by sinking a pressure-filled downhill, eight-foot putt to save par. He then parred 18 for the win.

Woods' 1999 back-nine PGA Championship duel with the 19-year-old Garcia, then known as "El Nino," was great theater. Tiger's business-as-usual demeanor was tested by the brash Garcia, who was smiling and skipping around the Medinah track. After Garcia birdied the 13th, he announced his presence with a look up to Woods on the tee box. However, Garcia was never much of a true rival for Woods, considering he didn't win his first major until 2017.

There have been thousands of pressure-packed putts during Woods' career, but his par save on the 17th hole at the '99 PGA Championship remains one of his most memorable. With a surging Sergio having already won over the Medinah faithful, Tiger calmly sank that downhill, eight-footer to maintain his one-shot lead and ultimately hold on to claim his second major title.

If Woods thought winning his first PGA Championship was a chore, repeating the feat was like putting in an 80-hour work week. In fact, Tiger needed to go to overtime to win at Valhalla in a playoff against journeyman Bob May. Woods either shared or held the lead outright in each round, but three consecutive 66s by May kept "El Tigre" from running away with the event. It was the first time since Denny Shute in 1936-37 that a golfer won back-to-back PGAs.

Some believe the 2000 installment of the PGA is the best in all of the tournaments Woods has played to this point. That's partly because Woods and May put on a sizzling Sunday display with matching five-under 31s on the final back nine. The battle was too entertaining for 72 holes after May sank a lengthy double-breaking putt for birdie on 18 before Woods knocked down an approximate six-foot birdie putt of his own to force the playoff. 

While Tiger's tying putt at 18 in 2000 further demonstrated his ability to come through in the clutch, his birdie drop on the first hole of the playoff against May is perhaps his most remembered. As that 20-footer on the 16th was about to fall, Woods ran toward the cup and enthusiastically pointed his finger at the hole while the gallery roared. He repeated the move a few more times but never more animated than in 2000.  

Woods' three on 16 was the only birdie of the playoff with May, who lost the extra three-hole run by one stroke. It was the first of three occasions that Woods needed a playoff to win a major. It also gave the 31-year-old May his 15 minutes. May never won on the PGA Tour and didn't play in a major following the 2001 season. 

Tiger didn't win the 2002 PGA Championship; he finished one shot behind unlikely winner Rich Beem. However, Woods claims the greatest shot of his career came on his 18th hole in the second round. Facing a difficult lie on the edge of a fairway bunker, Woods clubbed a 3-iron from 167 yards, over the trees and to within about eight feet of the cup. He made the putt for the improbable birdie. 

Even in defeat, Woods made things interesting at Hazeltine in 2002. He made birdie on each of the final four holes to shoot 67 and finish at nine-under for the tournament. Despite a bogey on the 18th, Beem held on to say he outlasted Tiger in a major. 

After winning the 2006 Open Championship a month earlier, Woods returned to Medinah — site of his first PGA Championship victory seven years earlier — to record a decisive five-shot win (18-under par) over Shaun Micheel. He also became the first golfer to win the PGA Championship twice on the same course.

As was the case when he won at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in 2006, Woods triumphed at a major while still mourning the death of his father and mentor, Earl, that May. Though his response to the victory wasn't as emotional as the one displayed across the Atlantic, Woods played with the spirit of his father while winning his 12th major championship.

Woods entered the third round at Medinah in 2006 as part of a group one shot behind a foursome of leaders. When the round concluded, Woods shared the lead with Luke Donald after equaling the course record with a seven-under-par 65 that put him in position to lift the Wanamaker Trophy a day later.

Becoming the first golfer since doing it himself to begin the decade, Woods claimed his second consecutive PGA Championship with a two-shot victory over Woody Austin at the 2007 event at Southern Hills. With four PGA Championship titles, Woods ranks third all time behind Walter Hagen and Jack Nicklaus — they have five each.

A year earlier at Medinah, Woods matched the course record with a 65. In 2007 he carded a blistering 63 in the second round to equal the lowest single-round score at a major championship. Woods, whose 63 also tied the course mark, looked to have set the record with a 62 before his putt on 18 lipped out.

With the win at Southern Hills in 2007, Woods improved to 13-0 in majors when holding at least a share of the lead after 54 holes. It was the 13th of his 15 major titles. He's still the last golfer to win back-to-back PGA Championships.

Following those back-to-back PGA Championship titles in 2006-07, Woods never gave himself a chance at a three-peat. He underwent another knee surgery after winning the 2008 U.S. Open and opted out of both the Open Championship and PGA. Padraig Harrington won the event by two strokes. 

All good things — or runs — must come to an end. That was the case for Woods during the 2009 event at Hazeltine, where for the first time in his career he failed to win a major when owning at least a share of the lead after 54 holes. Holding a two-shot lead heading into the final round, Woods' putter failed him often en route to a Sunday 75. Korean-born Y.E. Yang took advantage of Tiger's collapse by shooting 70, highlighted by an eagle on the 14th, to win by three shots.

Lost in Woods' unexpected defeat at Hazeltine in '09 was the quality golf he played early in the tournament. He carded five birdies without a bogey to take a one-stroke lead after the first round. On Friday, he rode a string of three consecutive birdies to a 70 and a four-shot advantage heading into the weekend.

After sitting out both the 2011 U.S. Open and Open Championship, Woods returned to the major scene at the Atlanta Athletic Club later that year. However, his stay at the PGA ended early, as rounds of 77 and 73 led to him missing the cut for the first time in 14 PGA Championship appearances.

It was a wonder Woods was even able to complete his second round at Valhalla in 2014. With his back acting up, the four-time PGA champ endured the physical pain and grinded his way to a second consecutive 74. He missed the cut at the PGA Championship for the second time in four years.

The 2015 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits was memorable to Woods for all the wrong reasons. It seemed to solidify the low point of his golf career with rounds of 75 and 73 for his second straight cut at the event and third in a row at a major in 2015. Well-publicized back issues then kept Woods out of the last two PGAs.

After two years away, Woods is back at the PGA Championship. A resurgence in 2018 had the 14-time major winner — and golf fans in general — feeling confident about his chances to make more memories at this final major of the season. Of course, he didn't let those fans down with his win at the 2019 Masters, increasing his total major wins to 15.