SLAM! SPORTS: 2000 IN REVIEW

Tiger's wins British Open

Results

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) -- Tiger Woods won the British Open by eight strokes at St. Andrews on Sunday to become the youngest player to win golf's Grand Slam.

The 24-year-old American, who won the Masters in 1997, the PGA in '99 and the U.S. Open by a record 15 strokes in June, carded a final round 69 at the home of golf to win his first Open with a 19-under 269.

Woods beat back a brief scare from David Duval to become only the fifth player to win all four majors, the first since Jack Nicklaus won the 1966 British Open at 26.

The 24-year-old Woods seems to be racing toward the record that matters the most -- the 18 majors Nicklaus won in a career that remains the standard. For now.

"He is the chosen one. He's the best player who has played the game right now," said Mark Calcavecchia, who stuck around St. Andrews to watch history in the making. "If Jack was in his prime today, I don't think he could keep up with Tiger."

Tiger Woods, of the United States, tries to coax a putt into the hole on the 12th green on the final day of the British Open Golf championship on the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland, Sunday, July 23, 2000. (AP Photo/Adam Butler)

Comparing eras is never easy, but Woods' performance in the majors stands alone.

One month after he demolished the field in the U.S. Open to win by a record 15 strokes, he won the silver claret jug by eight strokes over Ernie Els and Thomas Bjorn.

It was the largest margin of victory in the British Open since 1913, when J.H. Taylor won by eight strokes over Ted Ray.

Woods became only the second British Open champion to win with four rounds in the 60s, and he beat by one stroke the record Nick Faldo set at St. Andrews in 1990.

"The guy is simply in a different league," Faldo said.

Perhaps Tom Watson, the only man to win a British Open at five courses but never at St. Andrews, summed it up best.

"He is something supernatural," Watson said. "He has raised the bar to a level that only he can jump."

Woods became the first player since Watson in 1982 to win the U.S. and British Opens in the same year, and the first since Nicklaus in 1972 to own three major championships at the same time.

Woods now goes to the PGA Championship with a chance to join Ben Hogan as the only players to win three majors in one year.

"It's the ultimate," Woods said. "This is the home of golf. This is where you always want to win. To have a chance to complete the slam at St. Andrews is pretty special. I was able to bring it home."

Els also set a record -- the first player to finish second in three straight majors. He now has been runner-up to Woods six times, more than any other player.

Els shot a 69, while Bjorn closed with a 71 to finish at 277.

But the real challenge came from Duval, No. 2 in the world ranking behind Woods. It was the first time they were paired together in the final group of a final round -- in a major championship, no less.

Duval went out in 32 and was only three strokes back until Woods, perhaps sensing history slipping away, poured it on with birdies on three of the next four holes.

Meanwhile, Duval crumbled. He was playing for second until hitting into the notorious Road Hole bunker on No. 17 and taking four shots to get out. He finished with a 75.

"As good as everything turned on the front nine was as bad as everything turned on the back," Duval said.

"He simply didn't make mistakes, and he capitalized on the holes you expect to capitalize on. It was a spectacular performance, to say the least."

The other players to win the Grand Slam were Gene Sarazen in 1935, Hogan in 1953, Gary Player in 1965 and Nicklaus in '66 at Muirfield. Nicklaus went on to win the Grand Slam two more times.

Not only is Woods the youngest player to win all four majors, he did it in only his 93rd sanctioned tournament, compared with 125 for Nicklaus.

Woods won about $775,000 from the record purse at the British Open. It was his sixth victory this year, 21st on the PGA Tour and 25 worldwide.

Results

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) -- Final scores with relation to par and money winnings Sunday of the 129th British Open on the 7,115-yard, par-72 Old Course at St. Andrews:
Tiger Woods, $759,150 67-66-67-69--269 -19
Thomas Bjorn, $371,984 69-69-68-71--277 -11
Ernie Els, $371,984 66-72-70-69--277 -11
Tom Lehman, $197,379 68-70-70-70--278 -10
David Toms, $197,379 69-67-71-71--278 -10
Fred Couples, $151,830 70-68-72-69--279 -9
Paul Azinger, $100,587 69-72-72-67--280 -8
Pierre Fulke, $100,587 69-72-70-69--280 -8
Loren Roberts, $100,587 69-68-70-73--280 -8
Darren Clarke, $100,587 70-69-68-73--280 -8
David Duval, $56,346 70-70-66-75--281 -7
Mark McNulty, $56,346 69-72-70-70--281 -7
Davis Love III, $56,346 74-66-74-67--281 -7
Vijay Singh, $56,346 70-70-73-68--281 -7
Stuart Appleby, $56,346 73-70-68-70--281 -7
Bob May, $56,346 72-72-66-71--281 -7
Bernhard Langer, $56,346 74-70-66-71--281 -7
Phil Mickelson, $56,346 72-66-71-72--281 -7
Dennis Paulson, $56,346 68-71-69-73--281 -7
Steve Flesch, $38,717 67-70-71-74--282 -6
Notah Begay, $38,717 69-73-69-71--282 -6
Padraig Harrington, $38,717 68-72-70-72--282 -6
Steve Pate, $38,717 73-70-71-68--282 -6
Paul McGinley, $38,717 69-72-71-70--282 -6
Bob Estes, $38,717 72-69-70-71--282 -6
Mark O'Meara, $30,366 70-73-69-71--283 -5
Mark Calcavecchia, $30,366 73-70-71-69--283 -5
Colin Montgomerie, $30,366 71-70-72-70--283 -5
Miguel Angel Jimenez, $30,366 73-71-71-68--283 -5
Dean Robertson, $30,366 73-70-68-72--283 -5
Jarmo Sandelin, $25,432 70-70-75-69--284 -4
Steve Jones, $25,432 70-70-72-72--284 -4
Jose Maria Olazabal, $25,432 72-70-71-71--284 -4
Jean Van de Velde, $25,432 71-68-72-73--284 -4
Eduardo Romero, $23,534 71-68-72-74--285 -3
Jose Coceres, $21,256 74-66-69-77--286 -2
Sergio Garcia, $21,256 68-69-73-76--286 -2
Robert Allenby, $21,256 72-71-72-71--286 -2
Craig Parry, $21,256 72-72-71-71--286 -2
Tsuyoshi Yoneyama, $21,256 74-69-70-73--286 -2
Jesper Parnevik, $21,256 73-69-72-72--286 -2
Gary Orr, $15,707 72-71-72-72--287 -1
Retief Goosen, $15,707 72-72-71-72--287 -1
Jim Furyk, $15,707 69-71-75-72--287 -1
Lucas Parsons, $15,707 70-72-71-74--287 -1
Nick O'Hern, $15,707 69-74-70-74--287 -1
Jeff Maggert, $15,707 72-71-69-75--287 -1
Jarrod Moseley, $15,707 70-71-70-76--287 -1
Nick Faldo, $15,707 70-71-75-71--287 -1
Justin Leonard, $15,707 70-74-72-71--287 -1
Stewart Cink, $15,707 69-73-76-69--287 -1
Rocco Mediate, $12,754 74-69-76-69--288 E
Ian Garbutt, $12,754 68-75-70-75--288 E
Mike Weir, $12,754 75-68-70-75--288 E
Greg Owen, $11,843 70-74-72-73--289 +1
Andrew Coltart, $11,843 70-72-73-74--289 +1
David Frost, $11,843 73-71-71-74--289 +1
Shigeki Maruyama, $11,843 68-76-69-76--289 +1
Tom Watson, $11,843 73-71-72-73--289 +1
Christy O'Connor Jr., $11,273 69-75-72-74--290 +2
Jeff Sluman, $11,273 72-68-75-75--290 +2
Steve Elkington, $11,273 73-69-74-74--290 +2
Kirk Triplett, $11,273 73-71-74-72--290 +2
Desvonde Botes, $10,970 71-70-76-74--291 +3
Per-Ulrik Johansson, $10,970 72-69-76-74--291 +3
Lee Westwood, $10,970 70-70-76-75--291 +3
Ian Poulter, $10,970 74-69-73-75--291 +3
Ian Woosnam, $10,742 72-72-73-75--292 +4
Gordon Brand Jr., $10,742 69-72-80-71--292 +4
Tom Kite, $10,628 72-72-76-74--294 +6
Kazuhiko Hosokawa, $10,628 75-69-77-73--294 +6
Lionel Alexandre, $10,628 75-68-76-76--295 +7
Peter Senior, $10,628 71-71-74-79--295 +7