Of the many statistics that Tiger Woods dominated throughout his early-career run from the late 1990s into the early 2000s, arguably none was more significant than his play on the par 5s. Tiger led the PGA Tour in par-5 scoring average in every season from 1997 through 2003, and not just by a couple hundredths. He led by wide margins, which when added up over the course of a round and a tournament, largely contributed to his dominance.
In playing these holes well under par—he averaged around 4.4 during that stretch—it may surprise you to learn that he wasn’t focusing on making birdies. Sure, that was the end goal, but Woods was focused on limiting the number of bogeys he made on par 5s.
