For nearly four decades, from 1968 to 2005, the Royal Liverpool Golf Club did not stage any edition of the Open Championship. Eventually, in 2006, the major returned to the landmark venue in thumping fashion. That year, as the Open progressed, it soon became clear that the tournament would secure a special place in golf’s history books. The reason? Tiger Woods.

While the 2006 Open saw Woods lift the Claret Jug for a second consecutive time, the win was perhaps the most emotional one of his career. The gravity of his victory was such that, even 17 years later, the golf world is fondly reminiscing about his Hoylake heroics. So, what made the win at Royal Liverpool the “most gratifying” of Woods’ long and illustrious career? Let’s take a walk down the memory lane!

Tiger Woods’ win at the 135th Open was a major victory unlike any other

The 151st edition of the Open Championship has gotten underway at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake. In the last 17 years, the prestigious golf course has hosted the tournament two other times, with Tiger Woods winning in 2006 and Rory McIlroy in 2014. While both those victories are two of the game’s most memorable feats, Woods’ win tugs at the heartstrings of golf fans to this day.

The anticipation for the 2006 Open Championship was through the roof well before Tiger began his title defense. After all, the last time Hoylake had hosted the tournament was 39 years prior, when Argentina’s Roberto De Vicenzo had bested Jack Nicklaus to win his maiden major.

As the tournament waged on, it soon became clear that a 30-year-old Woods would soon lay claim to the 11th major title of his career. That entire week, the golfer hit his driver just one time and missed only four fairways! In the end, he won the trophy over Chris DiMarco, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, and Sergio Garcia by two shots. As iconic as the win was, it was the image of the Woods ferociously sobbing in the arms of his then-caddie, Steve Williams, that has lived on.

The 2006 Open Championship was Woods’ first major win since his father’s death in May of that year. Eldrick Woods, better known as Earl, was his son’s biggest source of inspiration and had greatly shaped the latter’s golfing career.

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“I just miss my dad so much. I wish he could have been here to witness this,” Woods said after his victory. “He enjoyed watching me grind out major wins, and this would have brought a smile to his face.”

Golf world reminisces Woods’ 2006 Open win

This year, Tiger Woods is sitting out the Open Championship as he is currently recuperating from ankle surgery. Fans, however, can’t stop thinking back to the 15-time major winner’s glory days. After @theopen shared a clip of the golfer’s 2006 Hoylake win, one wrote, “He won without hitting a single driver over the 4 rounds! Amazing.” Not only did the golfer not hit a single driver in the final three days of the event, but he also finished 18-under! “Final round was unique: 18 consecutive tee shots with an iron,” said another. “The setup was sick that week the fairways were concrete,” reminisced one golf fan.

“Terrible shirt but elite golf,” commented an Instagram user. “When the world was a far better place,” wrote another fan. Meanwhile, one fan called Woods “The GOAT in golf and the GOAT in figuring out life!” The Open in Hoylake wasn’t the only tournament that the 47-year-old won that year. A few weeks later, he also went on the nab the PGA Championship in Medinah.

While Woods did not make it to Hoylake this year, he did talk about his nearly 20-year-old achievement in a video message sent to the Association of Golf Writers for being conferred the award for Outstanding Services to Golf. In it, the legend once again recalled the emotional nature of the win due to his father’s absence. “It was a tough, tough week, but also probably the most gratifying that I have ever experienced over there,” noted the golfer.

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What is your favorite Tiger Woods major victory? Who do you think will emerge winner at the Open this year? Let us know in the comments below!