There were many highlights, but one stands alone: his record-setting, 15-stroke triumph in the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
Leading wire-to-wire, the 24-year-old Woods lapped the field on the famed Monterey Peninsula course, firing rounds of 65, 69, 71 and 67. His 12-under-par total of 272 was 15 strokes better than his closest competition, a margin that shattered the previous mark of four strokes set by Willie Smith in 1899.
One month later, Woods posted an eight-stroke win in The Open Championship at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland. He fashioned four consecutive rounds in the 60s and never three-putted, becoming the youngest player in golf history to win all four major championships. The following month, he captured his third straight major title, edging Bob May in a dramatic three-hole playoff to win the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky.
Woods set or tied 27 PGA Tour records in 2000, including a season-scoring standard of 68.17, surpassing Byron Nelson's unofficial 1945 mark of 68.33. Woods concluded the season with 47 consecutive rounds of par or better and finished with under-par totals in all 20 tournaments he entered.
In April of 2001, Woods won The Masters Tournament at Augusta (Ga.) National Golf Club by two strokes over David Duval, becoming the first player in modern-day history to hold all four major championships simultaneously. The achievement became known as the "Tiger Slam."
Woods was a winning machine during the decade. His PGA Tour totals include: nine wins in 2000; five in '01, '02 and '03; one in 2004; six in '05; eight in '06; seven in '07; four in '08; and six in '09.
In the 2003 TOUR Championship, Woods made the cut for a PGA Tour-record 114th straight time. With his victory in the WGC-American Express Championship, Woods became the first player in PGA Tour history to win five or more events in five consecutive years.
In 2004, Woods surpassed Greg Norman for most weeks at No. 1 (332)in the Official World Golf Ranking. For the second straight year, he claimed the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, stretching his winning streak to 12 matches.
In 2005, Woods won The Masters, The Open Championship and collected his third Vardon Trophy. A stirring one-stroke win over Phil Mickelson in the Ford Championship at Doral and a sudden-death playoff victory over John Daly at sold-out Harding Park in the WGC-American Express Championship, his 10th win in 19 WGC starts, were highlights.
Following the death of his father, Earl, on May 3, 2006, Woods held off Chris DiMarco to win The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool in England. Using driver only once all week due to the firm conditions, Woods led the field in driving accuracy at 85.7 percent and was second in greens in regulation at 80.6. The following month, he won his 12th major title at the PGA Championship at Medinah Country Club near Chicago, beating runner-up Shaun Micheel by five strokes.
In 2007, Woods won his seventh consecutive PGA Tour event, dating back to the 2006 Open Championship, coming from two strokes behind in the last round to claim the Buick Invitational. He also won the PGA Championship, his 13th major title, for the second straight year thanks to a second-round 63 at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla. That tied the second-lowest round in major championship history. Woods closed the season by capturing the inaugural FedExCup and finished with an adjusted scoring average of 67.79, equaling his own mark set in 2000.
Woods won four of six starts in 2008, topped by a courageous playoff victory over Rocco Mediate in the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course near San Diego. Limping noticeably and in obvious pain, Woods gamely holed a 12-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to force the playoff, then prevailed the following day on the 19th hole. It marked the 14th straight time Woods won a major title when leading after three rounds, and it was his seventh overall win at Torrey Pines, establishing a new PGA Tour standard for victories on one course.
On June 16, 2008, Woods was ranked No. 1 for the 500th week. Two days later, he underwent reconstructive surgery on his knee, ending his season.
Woods wasn't sure what to expect in 2009, but in only his third event, he completed his return to the game by winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational for the sixth time. Woods tied his biggest 54-hole comeback -- five strokes -- by posting a final-round 67. He saved his best for last, sinking a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole to overtake Sean O'Hair.
Woods also clipped Jim Furyk by one stroke at the Memorial Tournament thanks to a final-round 65 that included birdies on the last two holes, marking his 20th come-from-behind win in a PGA Tour event. He also won the AT&T National, forging a final-round 67; the Buick Open; WGC-Bridgestone Invitational; and the BMW Championship. At the latter, Woods shot a course-record 62 in the third round at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club in Lemont, Ill., to win by eight shots, the 10th time in his PGA Tour career he won by eight or more strokes.
The victory was the 71st of his PGA Tour career, third-best all time and two behind Jack Nicklaus. Woods also secured his second FedExCup title with a win and two seconds in the four-tournament series.
Although Woods failed to win a major title in 2009, he recorded 14 top-10 finishes in 17 starts and finished first or second nine times. For the sixth time in his career, he won at least six events, tying Sam Snead.
Woods then went 5-0 to help lead the U.S. to victory over the International Team in The Presidents Cup in San Francisco. He concluded the year by winning the JBWere Masters in Australia.
Following the season, Woods was selected Athlete of the Decade by The Associated Press, receiving 56 of a possible 142 first-place votes. Cyclist Lance Armstrong finished second with 33 votes, and tennis great Roger Federer was third with 25.
From 2000-09, Woods won the career grand slam three times and was selected PGA Tour Player of the Year by his peers eight times. He won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average seven times and earned the Arnold Palmer Award for leading money-winner seven times. More remarkably, Woods won 30 percent of the PGA Tour events he entered and held down the top spot in World Golf Ranking for all but 32 weeks over the 10 years. He has remained No. 1 for 239 consecutive weeks.
Off the course, Woods applied his trademark dedication and focus to the Tiger Woods Foundation, a global organization that provides innovative educational opportunities to youth. Tiger began this work with his father, Earl, in 1996, and the last decade has seen major growth for the organization. Driving home during the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, Woods decided the Foundation needed to expand its reach and create a safe place for young people to explore and discover educational and career opportunities. Shortly thereafter, the idea for the Tiger Woods Learning Center began to take shape, and in February 2006, Tiger celebrated the grand opening of the 14-acre facility in Anaheim, Calif. Since that day, more than 25,000 students have benefited from the Learning Center's programs and are working toward brighter futures.
In addition to the development and successful launch of the Tiger Woods Learning Center, the Foundation also created the Earl Woods Scholarship Program to honor the spirit and vision of Earl Woods. The funding for the program was generated through small donations from around the world. Tiger matched these gifts, and to date, there are 25 students in the program attending schools such as Harvard, UC Berkeley, USC and Georgetown.
The Foundation also expanded its grant-making program to include several worthy organizations in Thailand and is funding tuition and housing costs for eight young students at Ratchaburi Convent School, an all-girls orphanage located in Ratchaburi Province in Thailand. Lastly, the Foundation launched Tiger's Action Plan, a nationwide curriculum focused on goal-setting, career exploration and self-discovery through service learning. More than six million young people have benefited from this program, which is based on Earl Woods' book Start Something.
In November of 2006, Woods announced the formation of Tiger Woods Design. He currently has three courses under construction: Al Ruwaya in Dubai; The Cliffs at High Carolina in Asheville, N.C., his first project in North America; and Punta Brava in Ensenada, Mexico.
"My goal is to provide a unique collection of amazing courses all over the world that represent what I love about golf," said Woods.