May 13, 2026, 12:00 p.m. ET
Tiger Woods won the 2006 PGA Championship at Medinah, his second major victory at that venue.Woods demonstrated a complete game, relying on brilliant ball-striking and exceptional putting to secure the title.He finished at 18-under-par, winning by five shots and tying his own PGA Championship scoring record.The victory was Woods’ 12th major title, breaking a tie with Walter Hagen for second on the all-time list.
Seven years after winning his second major at Medinah No. 3 — the 1999 PGA Championship, back when his professional career was still taking shape — Tiger Woods returned to the same venue as a more complete player for the 88th playing of the event, and he produced another commanding performance, adding a Wanamaker Trophy to an already crowded collection.
Golfweek’s Jeff Babineau noted after the victory that Woods showed two distinct sides of his game: a brilliant ball-striker who fired a 65 on Saturday, and a closer on Sunday who relied on sharp bunker play and exceptional putting to secure the title.
“He has more desire than anybody I’ve ever come across,” said Woods’ caddie at the time, Steve Williams. “If you have the desire and the work ethic to make it happen, it’s going to happen.”
And it happened again. Woods’ run during that stretch — finishes of second, first, first and first after an early exit at the U.S. Open — revived memories of 1999 and 2000, when he won 16 times and captured four majors. He was once again the same player who dominated then, only with age came a deeper arsenal of shots, improved distance control, a more refined understanding of his swing, and the experience that came from a decade on the PGA Tour.
“That makes me feel old,” Woods said with a smile at Medinah in ’06. “Compared to how I was here in ’99, I just have a better understanding of how to get more out of a round and how to handle emotions better.”
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Woods also demonstrated the ability to hit shots others simply didn’t have. In the third round of ’06, he struck a towering 3‑iron on the par‑3 13th that appeared to drop straight down onto the green.
“It was something I’ve never seen before,” said Chris Riley, who had competed against Woods for nearly 20 years.
During the final round, Woods added a precise 60‑yard bunker shot with an open‑faced 8‑iron at No. 14 and a bold 255‑yard fairway‑wood to the green at No. 7 after pitching out earlier in the hole.
Woods began that Sunday tied with Luke Donald and two shots ahead of Mike Weir, but the outcome was rarely in doubt. The challengers behind him faded after three low‑scoring days on a soft Medinah course that encouraged birdies. Donald and Weir, who had shot 66 and 65 on Saturday, slipped backward with rounds of 74 and 73.
Shaun Micheel, the 2003 PGA champion, finished 13 under par, five shots behind Woods, to lead the rest of the field. It was Micheel’s first top‑10 finish of the season, but the tournament lacked the drama of Medinah’s 1999 edition, when Sergio Garcia’s late charge electrified the closing holes.
By the turn on Sunday, Woods held a four‑shot lead and faced no serious threat. As the field fell away, he pulled further clear, enjoying the finish and closing at 18‑under‑par 270. The victory tied his own PGA Championship record for lowest score and marked the fifth time he had won a major by at least five shots.
The margin came despite Woods saying afterward that he didn’t strike the ball particularly well in the final round.
“Tiger has a unique ability to play well when he thinks he’s not playing well,” Micheel said. “His ‘B’ game is better than most guys’ ‘A’ games.”
Asked when he believed the tournament was effectively over, Chris DiMarco responded without hesitation: “Saturday night.”
“You would think going to the first tee that he would feel the pressure because everybody is expecting him to win, and it’s the opposite,” said DiMarco, second to Woods in two majors. “The guy playing with him feels the most pressure … (Woods) looks more comfortable leading on the back nine of a major than playing the first hole of a tournament, and that’s pretty scary. It’s unbelievable he can feel that comfortable.”
The result marked another abrupt turn in a season already full of shifts. Early‑summer talk of a potential Mickelson sweep ended at Winged Foot, and following Woods’ wins at Hoylake and Medinah, speculation shifted toward another possible Tiger Slam. With a fifth Masters title the following April and Oakmont looming the next June, the idea no longer seemed far‑fetched.
Woods’ win at Medinah was his third straight victory and was his fourth top‑two finish after returning from the U.S. Open following the death of his father, Earl, in May of 2006. Woods said Earl’s influence was especially present on the greens Sunday, where he putted with remarkable confidence and precision.
Give the game’s most powerful and mentally resilient player a hot putter, and history often followed.
Woods told swing coach Hank Haney on Saturday, “You’ve never seen me putt good.” By Sunday, that claim no longer applied. Woods needed just 27 putts in the final round, highlighted by 40‑foot birdie putts at Nos. 6 and 8, and several key par saves during a closing 4‑under 68.
“Today was one of those special days on the greens,” Woods said after the win. “I just felt like if I got the ball on the green, I could handle it from there.”
The numbers underscored the performance. Woods shot all four rounds in the 60s — 69‑68‑65‑68 — for just the second time in a major. He became the fifth golfer to win at least three PGA Championships and improved to 12‑for‑12 when leading or co‑leading a major after 54 holes. He also broke a tie with Walter Hagen for second on the all‑time major wins list.
With 40 majors played as a professional at this point, Woods continued to narrow the gap on Jack Nicklaus, who won just nine in his first 40 appearances. What was once a question of whether Woods would catch him had shifted to when — though Woods remained cautious. As Jeff Rude noted in a column after the Medinah win, “based on his 30 percent success rate in Grand Slam events, Woods is on pace to tie Nicklaus at the 2011 PGA at Atlanta Athletic Club.”
“It’s still a long way away,” Woods said. “It’s not something that could happen next year.”
Even though he managed just three more majors, including the PGA in 2007, Woods proved at Medinah that when Sunday pressure arrived, he didn’t survive it — he thrived in it. And that, more than anything, remained the dividing line between him and everyone else.
Golfweek alumni Jeff Babineau and Jeff Rude contributed to this report.