What Tiger Woods found ‘hard to believe’ the first time he ever played Pebble Beach alongside his father

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Tiger Woods’ 2000 US Open victory at Pebble Beach will go down as one of the all-time great major championship performances.

Woods’ remarkable victory saw one of the greatest putting displays ever seen. Tiger didn’t three-putt and holed pretty much everything from inside ten feet.

He felt at home on Pebble’s small and testing greens, and it’s a venue which will be fondly remembered in the Woods household.

In fact, as a California native, Woods was well aware of Pebble Beach and its standing within world golf. The venue has held five US Opens, one PGA Championship and the annual AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. It’s also the course where Jack Nicklaus said he would play his last-ever round.

Most recently, the 2019 US Open was held at Pebble Beach, and Woods was quizzed on his relationship with the venue during his pre-tournament press conference.

The first time Tiger Woods played Pebble Beach

Before the event, Woods discussed the first time he played the iconic California course.

“Oh, the first time I ever played it, I played with Pops. And hard to believe that it was under a hundred bucks to play,” Woods said.

“So my dad made a vow that he would never, ever play a round of golf where you had to play a hundred bucks or more. So, luckily, it was still under a hundred bucks then. And we got a chance to play Pebble Beach.”

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What Tiger Woods thought of Pebble Beach the first time he played it

With Woods only ten during his first trip to Pebble Beach, he admitted it was a long and challenging test. “I didn’t hit it very far. I must have been nine or ten. It was a long, soft, wet golf course to me. But it was cool to see that the same thing we watch every year in, what, February, see where the pros play,” Woods added.

“And it was always cool for me to go down to Torrey Pines where they played the Andy Williams or LA, playing the LA Open, to go to Tour sites, and play the Tour sites. That’s always a pretty neat thrill as an amateur.”

Woods ended the 2019 US Open in a tie for 21st at two under after heading into the week as the pre-tournament favourite.

Gary Woodland claimed victory on 13 under, finishing three shots clear of Brooks Koepka and six clear of Jon Rahm.