The 2000 season must have felt like one of the strangest years for a number of the best golfers in the world, with Tiger Woods completely changing the game and dominating on his way to nine victories.
Playing in the same era as Tiger Woods must have felt like both a blessing and a curse. No-one seemed to attract more followers to the game than Woods. But of course, competing with the 15-time major champion must have been demoralising at times.
Woods won three majors in 2000 – going on to complete the Tiger Slam at the 2001 Masters – while one of his biggest victories on the PGA Tour that year came at Bay Hill.
Woods began a run of winning the event now known as the Arnold Palmer Invitational four years in a row in 2000. Heading into the final round that year, Woods found himself two shots clear of Davis Love III.
What Tiger Woods told Davis Love III after outdriving him at Bay Hill in 2000
It is fair to say that Love III – who also finished as a runner-up in 1989 and 1993 – did not have his best day on Sunday. But perhaps what did not help was coming up against the best player on the planet at that moment.
In fact, speaking on Tiger 2000, Love III explained how Woods would not shy away from making his rivals feel inferior when the right opportunity presented itself – as he found out at Bay Hill.
“I just remember when he has his A game, you better have your A+ game to keep up with his A game,” he said.
“I’m trying to get to the green in two and he’s way up there hitting an iron. I feel like I’m driving it good and he goes, ‘you’ve got nothing for me’. He was always brutally honest about it.
“A lot of times when I went out there on the golf course and was playing pretty good, and I was like I’ve got nothing for this guy.”
What Love III said about Tiger Woods after that final round 25 years ago
Love III was left frustrated with how he performed on that final day 25 years ago. Woods posted a 70 on Sunday but still managed to win by four.
And it seems that the consistency was what Love III viewed to be the biggest difference between Woods and his peers, judging by comments he made about his countryman after the final round.
“I think he’s playing everybody’s A game every week. You know, Ernie Els could have just as easily shot 18 or 19-under here if he’d have played well. But he looks like that every week right now, but he’s just much more consistent. You know, I might go next week and shoot 15-under and win, but he’s been doing it week after week after week after week. I think that’s the difference,” he said.
“Remember when he used to grade himself? He’s about an A- right now every week, and an A+ some weeks and that’s pretty, you know — if Ernie Els played up to his potential every week, or I did or Fred Couples, we’d shoot low scores week after week after week. Just mentally right now, he’s got the advantage.”
Bay Hill would see Woods’ third win of the 2000 season. His next four victories would come at the Memorial, the US Open, The Open Championship and the PGA Championship.
And it was not until the final major of the year that Woods would win by a smaller margin than the four shots he beat Love III by at Bay Hill.
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