Tiger Woods at the 1992 U.S. Junior Amateur (USGA Photo)
Before he was an 81-time winner on the PGA Tour and a 15-time major winner, Tiger Woods was also one of the most accomplished amateur players ever. Woods won the 1991, 1992, and 1993 U.S. Junior Amateur and the 1994, 1995, and 1996 U.S. Amateur.
He is one of two golfers to win the U.S. Junior multiple times, along with Jordan Spieth, and the only three-time winner. He is also the only golfer to win three U.S. Amateurs in a row. With his three U.S. Amateur wins, Woods is third all-time on the events win list behind the great Bobby Jones with five and Jerome Travers with four.
He played collegiately at Stanford University, and at Stanford, Woods was a two-time All-American, a two-time Pac-10 first-teamer, and Player of the Year while he was also named the 1996 Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year.
Stanford University is also where AmateurGolf.com will be from Jan. 8-9 for the Silicon Valley Amateur.
Woods played in 16 professional events throughout his amateur years, making the cut seven times. His first appearance was at the 1992 Nissan Los Angeles Open, and his final was the 1996 British Open Championship, where he won the Silver Medal and finished tied for 22nd.
Of the 16 events, six were majors -- the Masters, U.S. Open, and British Open twice each-- and Woods made the cut on four occasions. Woods was also the first golfer to win both the U.S. Junior Amateur and the U.S. Amateur, only recently joined by Nick Dunlap, who won the U.S. Junior in 2021 and the U.S. Amateur in 2023.
Woods was also the youngest golfer to win the U.S. Junior at 15 years and 220 days. In 2010, Jim Liu broke Woods's mark, winning at 14 years and 11 months.
Let's take a look back at Woods incredible USGA run from 1991-1996.
1991 U.S. Junior
In his first U.S. Junior win, Woods defeated Brad Zwetschke in 19 holes at Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Bay Hill, Fla., where the PGA Tour holds the annual Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Zwetschke and Woods were all square through 18 holes and went onto the first playoff hole, where Woods made a bogey but still secured the win with Zwetschke making a double bogey.
1992 U.S. Junior
In Woods second straight U.S. Junior win, Woods defeated Mark Wilson 1-up at Wollaston Golf Club in Milton, Mass.
Wilson led Woods 2-up with five holes left to play. Wilson was the first opponent that week to hold a lead over Woods. However, Woods won Holes No. 14 and 16 before winning No. 18, also with a bogey similar to the 1991 playoff.
Wilson now works full-time as a golf commentator for PGA Tour Radio, PGA Tour LIVE, found on ESPN+, and PGA Tour Champions coverage on the Golf Channel.
1993 U.S. Junior
Woods completed the three-peat in his final U.S. Junior by taking down Ohio native Ryan Armour in 19 holes at Waverly Country Club in Clackamas, Ore., in 1993. This was a rematch for Armour, who faced Woods in the 1992 quarterfinals and lost to Woods 8 & 6.
Even though he fell in the finals, taking Woods to extra holes was a huge accomplishment for the future Ohio State golfer. Armour has enjoyed a career on the PGA Tour and a win at the 2016 Sanderson Farms Championship.
1994 U.S. Amateur
Woods defeated Trip Kuehne in the 1994 U.S. Amateur 2-up at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Kuehne went on to be a three-time All-American and 1995 Ben Hogan Award winner, but never pursued a professional career. As an amateur, he was a three-time Walker Cup player and qualified for four U.S. Opens and two Masters.
He won low amateur honors in the 2003 U.S. Open at Olympia Fields. His second Masters appearance in 2008 was earned following his U.S. Mid Amateur victory in 2007.
1995 U.S. Amateur
In 1995, Woods took down Buddy Marucci 2-up at Newport Country Club in Newport, Rhode Island and clinched his title defense with a birdie on the 36th hole.
Marucci played on the 1995 Walker Cup team and in 2007 and 2009, Marucci captained the Walker Cup team. In 2008 Marucci captured a USGA win when he won the U.S. Senior Amateur.
1996 U.S. Amateur
Woods completed his U.S. Amateur three-peat at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club North Plains, Ore., defeating Steve Scott 2-up in one of the more memorable U.S. Amateur finals ever.
Woods won in 38 holes, but a ball marker controversy that never famously ruled the day. On the 34th hole of the match, Scott was 2-up, and Woods was putting out to extend the match. However, Woods had moved his marker because it was in Scott’s putting line. As Tiger lined up his putt, Scott reminded Tiger to move it back. If Woods did not remove it back, Scott would have won the U.S. Amateur.